There are several characters in the Star Wars franchise that have been popular for years and have enjoyed their own stories in the Legends canon as well as in the current canon, but there are a few that haven’t been given a big-screen presence of their own. Lando Calrissian is one of those that has had his own adventures and yet still been treated as one of the sidekicks to the main cast a lot of times. He is indeed a supporting character, but among the lot of them, he’s one of those that stands out as the most interesting. From the moment the fans were introduced to Lando on Cloud City in The Empire Strikes Back, he became a charismatic character that had a great deal of pull in the story since the history that he and Han shared was intriguing enough that many people wanted to learn more. As Disney has already shown, Han and Lando met by chance, to be honest, and yet despite all that they’ve gone through and the irritation and frustrations they’ve felt, they remained good friends throughout the story.
This didn’t get pushed as much in the sequel trilogy for reasons that a lot of us might never know, but all the same, Lando has had plenty of time to have his own adventures, and if Donald Glover is serious about coming back to the role he could likely become a favored character all over again since Glover made it clear that he was the right guy for the role. Even if Solo wasn’t well-respected as a movie, Glover managed to shine in a big way as he excelled in the part of Lando, especially since his general attitude made him perfect for the role and made the link between Lando’s younger and older selves make sense.
There was a group of stories that was dubbed The Lando Calrissian Adventures, which saw him off on his own with a droid companion as he went on his own quests throughout the galaxy. To be fair, it was kind of an odd group of stories, but it highlighted Lando quite well and put him through several paces that were intriguing enough to read about. To see him brought into the franchise once again would be great since there’s plenty that Glover can take on as a younger Lando that might eventually lead into The Empire Strikes Back period, since there are several years and chances for adventure between the end of Solo and TESB. But it does feel likely that if Disney decides to go this route, as it does sound as though a project could be underway, Lando’s adventures in the novels might not be given a second glance. That’s too bad, but it’s not entirely surprising. His time in the Legends canon was highly entertaining as well since he did keep his role as a supporting character, but he did what he could to help those he’d befriended in the original trilogy, and he’d even married at one point, which might sound highly unlike Lando, but was still an interesting addition to his character arc.
The manner in which people are being introduced to the way that the Mouse House wants to do things is a bit frustrating at times, especially since deviating so wildly from the stories that are there to use feels like a huge mistake that the corporation keeps making. The desire to see things play out exactly as they did in the novels isn’t why it’s so frustrating, it’s the fact that Disney is simply tossing out the works of many people that have done their best to create a galaxy in which some of the most interesting stories possible have taken place to prove that they’re capable of coming up with stories are either better or completely original, but with the occasional cherry-picking to show that they’re paying some type of homage to the franchise as it’s been built over the years. To be certain, Lando’s story has never been fully explored, but the character has been fleshed out in a big way since plenty of people know who he is and what he’s all about. But seeing a live-action movie, or movies would be great.
Even if he gets his own limited series on Disney+ it would be great since it would be a sign that Disney is paying attention to characters that have earned their place in the story instead of seeking to highlight those that haven’t done nearly as much yet. The Jannah series that’s been discussed in the past is something that should be looked into, but the fact is that it’s bound to be better received if the main character is seen to earn her spot, instead of just being propped up as so many of the cast members in the sequel trilogy were. Lando has earned his spot, and it’s time to see him shine again.
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