Lucasfilm announced today that Donald Glover, an acclaimed actor, award-winning writer, and Grammy-nominated artist, will be playing the part of Lando Calrissian in the still-untitled Han Solo Star Wars film, helmed by directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. Glover will join Alden Ehrenreich — previously cast as Han Solo — in bringing two iconic Star Wars characters back to the big screen, but at a time in their lives previously unexplored. This new film depicts Lando in his formative years as a scoundrel on the rise in the galaxy’s underworld — years before the events involving Han, Leia, and Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back and his rise to Rebel hero in Return of the Jedi.[x]
People still think of Lando as “The Guy Who Betrayed The Trio” and that’s some grade A bull.
I mean what would you do if you had people to protect and Darth Vader, Scariest Dude in the Galaxy, comes marching up to your door with a whole battalion of soldiers? Like? How much choice do you think he actually had here? Not much because Vader literally changes the rules on him every scene they’re together so the deal goes from “Trap the smuggler and his friends” to “Han’s being tortured and frozen in carbonite and taken away and the others that were supposed to be left untouched are also being taken capture indefinitely right now” and Lando has all of no control over any of it.
And then the second he realizes what’s happened he risks everything to help Chewie and Leia out. Leaves his cozy home to help them. Joins the Rebellion? Frees Han? Blows up the second Death Star?
But sure he’s just that sleaze ball who betrayed the gang. Sure.
I do not trust people who rag on Lando.
Seriously? Did they just sleep through Return of the Jedi?
Also, “They showed up here just before you did” gives us context to when Han arrives unannounced, and Lando tries to get Han to lose his cool and book out?
“ Why you slimy, double-crossing, no-good swindler. “
Lando opens with giving Han an excuse to say “Same to you Bantha herder, Chewie, we’re out”. Lando insults a smuggler known for his pride, hoping to get a rise and a reaction and risks his life to try to insult Han off the trap
“ You got a lot of guts coming here, after what you pulled!”
Also, assume that Lando’s just been ambushed by the Empire, and told that Han Solo is headed here, and that it’s the same Han Solo who just ran a blockade on Hoth, and Hoth is within non-hyperdrive flight range of Bespin.
Lando literally opens with a coded “You ran an Imperial Blockade and now you’re flying in openly at the nearest system?”
If the Han Solo of ANH and, as recently as Hoth base (Who’s scruffy looking?), had been as a hot headed as Lando expected, he would have walked back up the ramp and flown off in a huff. Lando tries to salvage the situation from before we even know there’s a problem
Lando was administrator and responsible for tens of thousands of lives. From the radio play “You should have looked around more, Han. You’d have recognized a lot of faces. A lot of people here are at the end of their ropes. This is their last chance for any kind of life.”
Yup. Lando’s actions are “Try to get Cloud City out this, try to get his friends out of this, try to get out of this himself, got out? EVACUATE THE CITY. Then save friends and self”
He could have flown off quietly, Lobot could have been instructed to prepare the escape vehicle. No, Lando gives the evac signal by announcing it’s him, and announcing the Empire has control of the city. Yeah, way to paint a target on your back there. No “Hit the fire alarm” button and run, no sneak off in the night.
Lando Calrissian was trying to save the most people possible without being willing to simply sacrifice his friends for the most efficient gain
Lando Calrissian is one of the most ethical characters in the original trilogy. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place, but he also turned on Vader/helped Leia and Chewie as soon as he could do so. We last see him in Empire setting off to help track down where Boba Fett took Han.
We see him next in Return of the Jedi, saving Han. And then volunteering for a possibly suicidal mission. Lando’s proven himself a hundred times over.
Lando’s a pretty important character in RotJ. Look at the ending. In the other two movies, each major action sequence focuses on what the villains are doing, what Luke is doing and what Leia is doing. For the ending of RotJ, they realized they wanted Leia and Han on the ground, and Luke with the Emperor, and chose to use LANDO as the focus character for the space fight. Lando was important and likeable enough to get the audience inveested in 1/3 of the action in RotJ.
That’s because we’re SUPPOSED to side with him, and like him, and empathize with his situation in ESB. We’re supposed to understand that he could have kept on as an Imperial lackey but gave up everything to help Leia and Chewie escape, and then go get Han back.
And we’re supposed to understand that yes, this is a fairy tale with knights and wizards and Lando did have a stain on his honor after ESB, but that he cleaned it off when he helped get Han back. There’s a reason he’s back in the cape and being called General the next time we see him after Tattooine.
I don’t want a Calrissian daughter. No. That will not do… I WANT A GANG OF DAUGHTERS. CALRISSIAN, SMOOTH TALKING, SAAVY BUSINESSWOMEN. CLOUD CITY QUEENS. Imagine Lando with like, five daughters. The Galaxy isn’t ready…
Like is that awkward guilt or paternal comfort or grounding in reality or just ‘I’m moving through your space because this cockpit is tiny and I don’t want to startle you’ idek all four probably.
Definitely all four. Lando doesn’t get nearly enough credit for being this actually incredibly compassionate and empathetic person. I mean, in a lot of ways his character arc mirrors that of Luke and Leia – he’s just lost his world and his people, and he’s not sure what will happen to them or if all or even some of them will make out of Bespin alive and safe. He did his absolute best to save them, but the thing is Cloud City was his home, his world, he cared about it, he loved it, he loved his people, and now he’s lost all that. But he’s still there, focusing on what he can save, helping and offering comfort to Luke and Leia (neither of whom he actually knows), watching the life he’s built for himself go up in smoke and just letting it go, because there are people who need his help.
Lando’s the responsible one. He says it as a joke to Han, but he really is. There’s a lot more to his character than just the scoundrel. And I just love him so, so much.
Lando Calrissian is awesome.
There is so much focus on Lando “betraying his friend” and not enough on the fact that he did his best to save thousands of people. Lando didn’t betray Han out of greed, or fear for himself–he did it out of fear for the people of Cloud City he was responsible for.
