If there is anything that actor Donald Glover’s Lando Calrissian would want to tell fans, it would be: “You might wanna buckle up, baby,”
This is because it was just announced that the Disney + Lando series project is being developed as a film.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the project news was announced during an appearance on the Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast, posted Thursday. In addition to Glover starring as the smuggler and gambler, his brother Stephen Glover is also working on the project as a writer.
Before the brothers took over writing the film Justin Simien (Haunted Mansion) was initially pegged to write the film but dropped out.
Donald Glover portrayed a young Lando in the 2018 film Solo: A Star Wars Story. In the film, he is the original owner of the Millennium Falcon before eventually losing it in a game of Sabacc to the movie’s titular character Han Solo (portrayed by Alden Ehrenreich).
While Solo was considered to be a major box office flop, Glover was praised for his role as Calrissian, and several rumors sprouted of future projects featuring the actor.
The role of Lando Calrissian debuted in the 1980 film The Empire Strikes Back and was originally portrayed by actor Billy Dee Williams. Williams would reprise the role in the 1983 film Return of the Jedi and the 2019 film The Rise of Skywalker.
In a 2017 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Glover recalled meeting Williams, where the actor talked about his perspective on the Lando character.
“He just let me ramble on and on, and then finally I was like, ‘So, what do you think?’ And he goes, ‘Yeah, I don’t know about all that. Just be charming.’“ said Glover regarding his conversation with Williams.
With the Lando series becoming a film, one would have to wonder if this would be the makings of a mini-saga of sorts since it is a spinoff of the Solo film. And if that is the case, would it be likely that a film about Qi’ra (portrayed by Emilia Clarke) be in the works? Or could a film involving the crime syndicate Crimson Dawn, founded by the former Sith Lord Maul?
One must also wonder when and where the Lando film will occur. Would it chronicle Lando’s rise to the position of Baron Administrator of Cloud City? Would Glover’s Calrissian have a run-in with Ehrenreich’s Solo or Clarke’s Qi’ra? Or will the film feature a cameo by Lando’s old friend Lobot? Or, is it possible that the film will become a part of the New Republic timeline?
The Disney + Lando series was originally announced during Disney’s Investor Day 2020 along with several Star Wars-related projects, which included the Disney + series Ahsoka, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor, and The Bad Batch.
The Lando does not have a release date as of yet.
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