Well, it looks like the rumors are true, Billy Dee Williams, famous for playing the smooth, suave gambler and smuggler Lando Calrissian will return for “Star Wars: Episode IX.” Director J.J. Abrams, who directed “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” hinted during press for the 2015 film, after fans asked about his absence, that audiences may not have seen the last of Calrissian and true to his promise, the character is back.
READ MORE: Rumor: Lando Calrissian Might Show Up In ‘Star Wars: Episode IX’
It’s probably good timing given that all of the three original, beloved “Star Wars” characters are gone, Han Solo killed in ‘Force Awakens’ by his son Kylo Ren, Luke Skywalker become one with the Force at the end of ‘The Last Jedi‘ (though maybe a force ghost appearance could occur) and while General Leia Organa hasn’t been killed in action on screen, with Carrie Fisher passing away in December 27, 2016, just days after ‘The Last Jedi’ release, its certain the character will be killed off in ‘Episode IX.’ How that happens will be up for debate, but my guess is they get it over quickly in the opening crawl, describing about how she’s lost her life in some battle.
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What has Lando Calrissian been up to? Unlike some characters like Wedge, who plays a significant part in some of the canonical “Star Wars” Aftermath books that take place between the events of “Return of The Jedi” and “The Force Awakens” and span about 35 years, Lando barely appears, but does surface back on Bespin in the final book “Aftermath: Empire’s End.” He’s also featured in some of the canonical Marvel comic books that take place after ‘ROTJ,’ but as far as I can glean, not having read all these books or comics, he doesn’t play much of a pivotal role.
“Star Wars: Episode IX” shoots this summer and a recent cancelation of an event that Williams was supposed to appear at sparked the rumor that he would appear in the latest Lucasfilm chapter. And it appeared to be spot-on.
What will his role be? Not to be a cynic, but Williams is 81 years old and walks with a cane so I doubt we will see him take Han Solo-like action, but perhaps some kind of general role like Leia’s could happen. “Star Wars: Episode IX” is set for a December 20, 2019 release date and is expected to make a time jump set years later as a way to account for General Organa’s death.
Calrissian recently appeared it anthology prequel, “Solo: A Star Wars Story” where a younger version of the character was played by Donald Glover to much fan acclaim. There’d been hopes for a spin-off film, but given the disappointing numbers of ‘Solo,’ that seems unlikely for now. Maybe Williams will finally properly pronounce Han correctly when giving condolences to Chewie? [The Hollywood Reporter]