| Lando Calrissian | |
|---|---|
| Star Wars character | |
 Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian[a] | |
| First appearance | The Empire Strikes Back |
| Created by | George Lucas |
| Portrayed by | |
| Voiced by | |
| In-universe information | |
| Title | Baron Administrator [2] |
| Occupation |
|
| Affiliation |
|
| Children | Kadara Calrissian |
Lando Calrissian (/kælˈrɪsiən/;kal-RISS-ee-ən) is a fictional character in theStar Wars franchise. He was introduced in theoriginal trilogy filmThe Empire Strikes Back (1980) as the administrator ofCloud City. In the film, he reluctantly betrays his friend Han Solo toDarth Vader, but later helps Han's friends escape from theGalactic Empire. InReturn of the Jedi (1983), Lando helps rescue Han fromJabba the Hutt, and later becomes a general in theRebel Alliance. The standalone filmSolo: A Star Wars Story (2018) depicts a younger Lando at the beginning of his relationship with Han, while the sequel filmThe Rise of Skywalker (2019) shows Lando joining theResistance in its battle against theFirst Order.[3]
Lando is portrayed byBilly Dee Williams inThe Empire Strikes Back,Return of the Jedi andThe Rise of Skywalker. Williams was nominated for theSaturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance inEmpire andJedi.[4][5]Donald Glover plays Lando inSolo, and is expected to reprise the role in another film that is currently in development.[6] In addition to films, Lando also appears in novels, comics and video games.
When writingThe Empire Strikes Back,Star Wars creatorGeorge Lucas planned to introduce a gambler-type character, which eventually developed into Lando. Lucas envisioned him as a suavecon man with the elegance ofJames Bond and the wit ofStar Trek'sSpock, who would be afoil to the "rough" swashbuckler Han Solo. The character would initially support theEmpire—believing he could outsmart the Imperials—before coming to see theRebellion as a more worthy cause.[7]
Lucas thought Lando might look like a normal human, but might actually be aclone from a ruling clan of others just like him, which would causePrincess Leia to distrust him. Lando's clone faction would be partly responsible for the Galactic civil war featured in theoriginalStar Wars trilogy.[k] Lucas imagined Lando as "almost too perfect looking" due to his genes being manipulated in the cloning process; Lucas envisioned the character as similar toRudolph Valentino.[7]
Lando's cane inThe Rise of Skywalker (2019) was designed to resembleCloud City. The bookThe Art of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker says theAurebesh text on the cane reads "Baron Lando Calrissian". Fans, however, translated it as "Landonis Balthazar Calrissian III", which was confirmed to be Lando's full name by writers ofThe Rise of Skywalker.[10][11]
Jonathan Kasdan, a co-writer ofSolo: A Star Wars Story, stated that Lando ispansexual. He added that he would have loved to have put a "more explicitlyLGBT" character into the film. When Donald Glover, who plays Lando, was asked about the character's pansexuality, he responded, "How can you not be pansexual in space? There's so many things to have sex with."[l] In 2021, Lando appeared in a series of Marvel comics featuringLGBT characters.[13]
BeforeBilly Dee Williams was cast as Lando,Yaphet Kotto was considered.[17] When Williams read the script forThe Empire Strikes Back, he thought Lando's cape and his surname "Calrissian" would be "interesting things to build a character around."[18][19]
Megan Farokhmanesh ofThe Verge noted that while most characters in the films pronounce Han Solo's first name "Hahn" (/hɑːn/), Lando pronounces it "Han" (/hæn/). InSolo: A Star Wars Story, Donald Glover deliberately used "Han" instead of "Hahn" for consistency.[20]
When Donald Glover sought Williams' advice about playing Lando forSolo, Williams told him, "Just be charming", which Glover felt was "the best advice".[21][22]
Lando Calrissian first appears inThe Empire Strikes Back as an old friend of Han Solo. He is the previous owner of Han's ship, theMillennium Falcon, and he is the administrator of Cloud City. When Han, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, andC-3PO arrive at Cloud City, Lando welcomes them as guests, but soon betrays them toDarth Vader, who plans to use the group as bait to ensnareLuke Skywalker. Lando reveals later that he had reluctantly agreed to betray them after Vader threatened to put Cloud City under Imperial control if he refused. Lando allows Vader to freeze Han incarbonite, but when Vader takes Leia and Chewbacca prisoner, his conscience gets the better of him. In the ensuing evacuation of Cloud City, Lando helps the group escape in theFalcon. Soon after, he assists in rescuing Luke from the underside of Cloud City. Afterwards, he promises to help find Han.
InReturn of the Jedi, Lando helps Luke rescue Han from the crime lordJabba the Hutt. Later, Lando is made a general in theRebel Alliance, and pilots theMillennium Falcon in an attack on the secondDeath Star.
Lando did not appear in the first two films of the sequel trilogy—The Force Awakens andThe Last Jedi—which displeased some fans, according toThe Independent.[m]Rian Johnson, the director ofThe Last Jedi, considered including Lando in the film, but ultimately decided against it.[26][27] Lando eventually appeared in the third film,The Rise of Skywalker. In the film, he helpsRey and her companions in their search for aSith wayfinder, and later recruits fighters from across the galaxy to aid the Resistance in their battle onExegol.
Donald Glover portrays a younger Lando in the 2018 standalone filmSolo: A Star Wars Story, which takes place roughly thirteen years beforeThe Empire Strikes Back.[n] In the film, Lando is introduced as a gambler and semi-retired smuggler who owns a fast ship, theMillennium Falcon. Needing a ship to steal a load of starship fuel, Han tries to win theFalcon from Lando in a game ofsabacc, but Lando cheats and beats Han. However, Lando agrees to join Han's mission in exchange for a percentage of the profits. During the heist and subsequent escape, Lando is injured. He abandons Han's group, but Han tracks him down and wins theFalcon from him.
In December 2020,Disney said it was developing a streaming series featuring Lando.[30] In July 2023, it was reported that Glover would reprise the Lando role, and wouldco-write the series with his brotherStephen.[31] In September of that year, it was announced that the project would be a feature film.[32]
Billy Dee Williams reprised the role of Lando in theStar Wars Rebels episodes "Idiot's Array" and "The Siege of Lothal".[33] In "Idiot's Array", Lando wins Chopper, the repair droid of the crew of theGhost, in a game of sabacc, forcing the crew to assist him with a dangerous smuggling run to get their droid back. The crew become Lando's reluctant business partners following the ordeal, leading to their first encounter with the crime boss Azmorigan. In "The Siege of Lothal", the crew of theGhost approach Lando for help in getting off of Lothal, which is under Imperial occupation. Lando is also mentioned in various other episodes, and becomes an alias used byEzra Bridger.
Lando appears in various video games, including as a playable character inStar Wars Battlefront andStar Wars Battlefront II.[34] InStar Wars: Outlaws (2024), which is set betweenThe Empire Strikes Back andReturn of the Jedi, Lando is depicted as a charismatic, smooth-talking gambler and entrepreneur. He interacts with the game's protagonist, Kay Vess, providing assistance and engaging in several missions. Lando is voiced by Lindsay Owen Pierre inOutlaws.[35]
Lando appears in three comic miniseries:Lando (2015), which is set shortly before theoriginal trilogy;Shattered Empire (2015), which takes place after the original trilogy; andLando: Double or Nothing (2018), which is set just beforeSolo: A Star Wars Story.[34][36]
The 2020 relaunch of Marvel'sStar Wars series, picking up at the tail end ofThe Empire Strikes Back, reveals that Lando returns to Cloud City to retrieve his aideLobot and help Luke look for his lightsaber.[37]
The novelStar Wars: Last Shot reveals that betweenReturn of the Jedi andThe Force Awakens, Lando considers settling down with a Twi'lek girlfriend.[38]
Following the acquisition ofLucasfilm byThe Walt Disney Company in 2012, most of the licensedStar Wars novels and comics produced between 1977 and 2014 were rebranded asStar Wars Legends and declared non-canon to the franchise.[o] TheLegends works comprise a separate narrative universe.
Lando is featured in theStar Wars comic book series released by Marvel Comics. In the series, Lando's nemesis is the crime lord Drebble. Lando uses Drebble's name as a cover identity, so that any animosity towards Lando will be brought against Drebble.[43] This scheme backfires when the exploits of Lando-as-Drebble are honored by the Rebellion, which results in Lando presenting an award to Drebble for Lando's own activities.
Lando is a supporting character inLegends novels that are set afterReturn of the Jedi. These novels, which includeTimothy Zahn'sThrawn trilogy and the works ofKevin J. Anderson, frequently depict Lando getting involved in a variety of entrepreneurial schemes. InThe Corellian Trilogy, Lando goes on a galaxy-wide hunt for a wealthy wife, ultimately marrying Tendra Risant. With his in-laws' money and his entrepreneurial abilities, he opens a mining facility on the Outer Rim planet of Dubrillion. InThe New Jedi Order and beyond, Lando continues to be a valuable ally and friend to the Skywalker-Solo family. InFury, the seventh novel of theLegacy of the Force series, Lando announces to Han and Leia that he and Tendra are having a child.
According to Anderson, Lucasfilm considered killing off Lando at one point.[44]
The Lando Calrissian Adventures is a 1983 trilogy ofscience fiction novels byL. Neil Smith. The novels chronicle Lando's smuggling days before the events of the originalStar Wars trilogy.[45] The trilogy, which has been described as "spacepulp", highlights the differences between Lando and Han Solo.[46] The novels were released in July, October, and December 1983, and were originally published byDel Rey, a division ofBallantine Books.[47]
Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu is the first novel in the trilogy, published on July 1, 1983. It has been described as apsychedelic fantasy novel.[48] The story begins shortly after Lando wins theMillennium Falcon, along with a droid, in a game of sabacc.[49] Arriving on the planet Rafa IV to pick up the droid, Lando witnesses convicts harvesting mind-draining crystals which prolong the life of elite citizens. Lando is arrested and brought before the sorcerer Rokur Gepta, who offers to spare his life if he can locate the legendary Mindharp of the lost Sharu civilization.[48]Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu is referenced in the novelization ofSolo: A Star Wars Story.[50][51]
The second novel in the trilogy,Lando Calrissian and the Flamewind of Oseon, was published on October 1, 1983. After selling a load of life-crystals, and accompanied by his droid Vuffi Raa, Lando attempts a career as an honest freighter captain. After some bad luck, he becomes nostalgic for his old smuggling trade. He is invited to a sabacc game on the planet Oseon, and is followed by Rokur Gepta. During the game, Lando is assaulted. He is put on trial for carrying a weapon, which is illegal on Oseon. He is offered a smuggling deal as an alternative to execution.
The third novel,Lando Calrissian and the Starcave of ThonBoka, was published on December 1, 1983. Nearly a year after leaving the Oseon system, Lando and Raa encounter the vacuum-breathing creature Lehesu, who hails from the ThonBoka nebula. A month later, Lando and Raa receive word that ThonBoka is under attack by the Empire. They rush to Lehesu's aid, and engage the Imperial forces in battle.
Billy Dee Williams voices Lando inStar Wars: Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, in which Lando assistsKyle Katarn and helps him reach Bespin. Lando is also a playable character inLego Star Wars: The Complete Saga.
In a 1980 review ofThe Empire Strikes Back,Janet Maslin ofThe New York Times called Lando "exaggeratedly unctuous, untrustworthy and loaded with jive."[52] In contrast, Adilufu Nama wrote in 2008 that Lando "offered a new benchmark in the status of black representation in science fiction cinema".[53] Writing in 2015, Alyssa Rosenberg ofThe Washington Post felt that Lando is a "fascinating and fraught part of the'Star Wars' legacy and the conversation around race in science fiction". She claimed that Lando is the onlyStar Wars character with a "truly comfortable sense of style", and felt that when Williams appears as Lando in the original trilogy, he feels like "an old-fashioned movie star in a futuristic setting without making the performance seem incongruous."[54]
Williams received backlash from children who were angered by Lando's betrayal of Han inEmpire; Williams thought viewers' reactions would have been different if Lando was white.[55] Williams has claimed that Lando did not really betray Han, but rather "was dealing, as best he could, with a situation that was presented to him by the Empire upon their arrival". Williams wrote that "Lando is not black or white, he's just Lando. Above and beyond the arguments or discussions of bygone eras, he is of the future."[56]
Megan Farokhmanesh ofThe Verge called Jonathan Kasdan's assertion that Lando is pansexual as "a piss-poor shot at representation", and argued that Kasdan was conflatingpansexuality withpromiscuity.[57] Farokhmanesh compared Kasdan's statement toJ. K. Rowling's revelation that her characterAlbus Dumbledore is gay, despite the fact that his sexuality had never been discussed in anyHarry Potter media.[57]
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