Buckle up, baby, because we got an exciting new update about the upcoming Lando movie.
Speaking in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter about his Amazon series Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Donald Glover was asked about Lando and if it was an easy project to accept. Glover first answered with, "I said yes because I like the characters, and my kids love Star Wars." But building on a previous answer about how the only real power in Hollywood is the ability to say "No" to a project, Glover gave a far more thoughtful answer, stating:
"At this point, I just know when something’s going to be good, because you’re really fighting the industry when you . And it’s not like … I was going to say, and it’s not like I hate the industry, but now I’m like, “Do I hate the industry?” I feel like I have enough control. And maybe you get painted as a control freak, but it’s like, yeah, control allows for the vision to be singular. And if the vision is singular, people want it more. The less it’s singular, the less people want it because they feel like they could’ve made it. Look, we live in a time where anybody can make anything. You go on TikTok, there’s literally every type of thing. There’s documentaries, there’s puppetry, there’s yarn stop-motion. So why would you want to see something you feel like you could have made?"
I love this quote. There has been so much uncertainty in the industry recently. Creators have been screaming about having more trust and control from higher-ups. Madame Web's Dakota Johnson stated recently, "The people who run streaming platforms don’t trust creative people or artists to know what’s going to work, and that is just going to make us implode."
Sam Haft, the composer for Hazbin Hotel, which was Prime Video's #1 streamed show in the world, emphasized why their show was successful because the higher-ups trusted their vision and didn't meddle in it, stating, "Put money in the hands of creators who have a specific vision, and you’ll win. You don’t need some four-quadrant broad appeal pablum - appeal to a narrower crowd and become their favorite thing."
I said as much in an interview with @bjcolangelo (linked) - put money in the hands of creators who have a specific vision, and you’ll win. You don’t need some four quadrant broad appeal pablum - appeal to a narrower crowd and become *their* favorite thing. https://t.co/nRP2LZQHd6
— Sam Haft (@SamHaft) February 4, 2024
It sounds like this is what's happening for Lando, with Disney finally getting out of their own way to let Glover and his co-writer brother, Stephen Glover, do their thing. Knowing this movie is about their singular vision excites me the most. The Glovers have such a strong, unique voice that can truly bring something special to Star Wars. It's the creators with that singular vision (just look at Tony Gilroy and Andor) that make the best Star Wars.