Easily one of the most fascinating characters in the Star Wars franchise, Lando Calrissian has managed to always be the side character and never the lead. As more and more characters from that galaxy far, far away got their own stand-alone films and series on Disney+, the rakish card shark turned Cloud City Baron Administrator appeared to be left behind like a Star Destroyer's space junk before it jumped to lightspeed. Luckily Disney came to its senses and greenlit a spin-off series after the return of Billy Dee Williams to the role he made famous in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
With the success of series like The Mandalorian and films like Solo: A Star Wars Story, it's clear that fans are ready to break away from following the Skywalker familial drama, and Lando is the perfect subject for Disney's next project. Donald Glover has already agreed to return to the role of young Lando, so there's no limit to the hijinks and fun Lando can get up to. Here's what we're hoping to see in the new series and what it should avoid.
10 WANT TO SEE: THE CALRISSIAN CHRONICLES
Whatever fans think of Solo: A Star Wars Story, there are few who can deny that Donald Glover's Lando Calrissian is a highlight. In the film, when he has possession of the Millennium Falcon, he records a "captain's log" of sorts called "The Calrissian Chronicles".
These recordings seem to act as his memoirs, and certainly grabbed fans' attention, while presenting the perfect adventures for a stand-alone series to focus on. Many of them could be based on the action-adventure Lando novels from the '80s, in which he was a treasure hunter and con artist.
9 SHOULD LEAVE OUT: HAN SOLO
Han Solo is one of the most popular characters in the Star Wars franchise and has appeared in several films in the Skywalker Saga as well as his own stand-alone film. His appearance in the Lando series could potentially overshadow its lead, and pull focus from a character who hasn't received nearly as much screen time.
The casting of Han Solo for Solo: A Star Wars Story was also incredibly divisive, so him appearing in the new Lando series, especially if he's played by Alden Ehrenreich might just bring up bad memories.
8 WANT TO SEE: MORE L3-37
In keeping with the franchise's long-held tradition of droids with spunky personalities, Lando's co-pilot L3-37 nearly stole the show in Solo: A Star Wars Story. She sacrificed herself to save her master in one of the film's more touching scenes, and fans were sad to see her character go.
While it's true, part of her was uploaded into the Falcon herself, a Lando solo series is the perfect opportunity to bring her back. It would be interesting to see how her and Lando became such great friends and more about the particulars of their unique relationship.
7 SHOULD LEAVE OUT: THE REBEL ALLIANCE
If the Lando series takes place during the period of time when the Empire was just beginning to acquire its stranglehold on systems, the Rebel Alliance should be mentioned. However, having Lando involved in its operations should be avoided.
It was already somewhat odd having it appear in Solo, haphazardly shoehorned in the third-act in a head-scratching connection to the freedom fighting organization Enfys Nest.
6 WANT TO SEE: HIS FAMILY HISTORY
There's never been any question that Lando's an "old smoothie" - even the charming Han Solo was worried about having Leia around him. But did his romantic liaisons provide the possibility of a family? It's heavily implied in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker that Jannah was his daughter, who possibly was kidnapped as an infant and forced to be a soldier for the First Order.
Even if fans don't get to learn about Lando breaking hearts across the galaxy, they may want to learn about the Calrissians in general, and perhaps even get to know what sort of upbringing Lando had himself.
5 SHOULD LEAVE OUT: AN OVERLOAD OF NOSTALGIA
While callbacks and tie-ins will be necessary to connect a Lando spin-off series to the wider Star Wars Universe, it should avoid stuffing every episode with easter eggs from the Skywalker Saga just for the sake of nostalgia. Some fans feel Solo: A Star Wars Story did this, and attribute it to being one of the reasons the film failed.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story managed to tell a compelling stand-alone tale in the galaxy far, far away by making relevant references that fit its story, not simply injecting it with callbacks that would ultimately pull fans out of the story.
4 WANT TO SEE: BILLY DEE WILLIAMS
Despite being one of the most integral parts of the original trilogy, Lando Calrissian is a Star Wars hero that never got his due. Even the triumphant return of Billy Dee Williams for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker seemed like a consolation prize for a character who always deserved more depth and backstory.
Billy Dee flashing his Chesire-smile in The Empire Strikes Back stacks up with any of the most iconic moments in the franchise, and there's a way for the Lando series to honor his contribution and give him something more to do. It could easily draw parallel storylines between a young and old version of Lando, or at the very least include flashbacks.
3 SHOULD LEAVE OUT: HOW HE GOT CLOUD CITY
Bespin remains one of the most memorable locations in the Star Wars franchise, and when fans first met Lando in the original trilogy, he was the Baron Administrator of Cloud City, but it doesn't mean they want to see how he managed to trade smuggling for bureaucracy.
That transition would mostly involve bureaucratic elements that wouldn't be very entertaining to watch pan out, especially if it coincided with Lando having to make even more difficult decisions involving the Empire.
2 WANT TO SEE: A RETURN TO THE FEEL OF THE ORIGINAL TRILOGY
Much of the success of The Mandalorian comes down to the fact that it captures the gritty feeling of the original trilogy, and blends its CGI seamlessly with practical effects. It has a slower tone at times, but that just allows for more character and narrative development.
Solo also succeeded to some degree with harnessing some of the original trilogy's magic, but ultimately became mired in too many over-the-top effects that distracted from what was supposed to be a character-driven story. A Lando series can find that appropriate balance.
1 SHOULD LEAVE OUT: LOBOT
As intriguing a character as Lobot is, if fans want to see what Lando was up to prior to him acquiring cloud city and settling down to the life of an administrator and bureaucrat, they should leave him out.
The only way his presence would be appropriate is if some of his backstory was worked in from Star Wars Legends, in which he went from being a cyborg running battlefield calculations for the Empire to being a part of Lando's smuggling crew aboard the Millennium Falcon.
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September 09, 2020 at 05:30AM
