Amidst all the Star Wars hullabaloo in the past couple of days, a smaller news item circulated surrounding the fate of famed Star Wars character Lando Calrissian. While taking questions from fans at the Smooth Talking panel at the “Star Wars Celebration” event in Orlando, Florida, original Lando himself – Billy Dee Williams – stated he would not be reprising his character for the forthcoming Star Wars: The Last Jedi, for which the first trailer appeared online Friday.
With the Star Wars cinematic universe back in full bloom – thanks to the tremendous success (both critically and commercially) of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and last winter’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – a great many in the original universe boarded the new entries, including Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) and the late Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia) – but not Williams. In recent years, Williams has continued his Lando duties, but relegated only to voiceover work on animated spin-offs and video games.
However, the character itself will turn up again on the big-screen with the forthcoming (and still untitled) “Han Solo Star Wars Anthology Film.” That feature – directed by The LEGO Movie‘s Phil Lord and Christopher Miller – we will meet up with a young Han (to be portrayed by Hail, Caesar!‘s Alden Ehrenreich) and Lando (to be played by Donald Glover). The film will hit theaters on May 25, 2018.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi hit screens on December 15th.
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