Solo's Donald Glover Reveals What It Was Like To Wear Lando's Cape

Screen Rant

By Craig Elvy

Published May 14, 2018

Solo star Donald Glover claims that the best part of donning his Lando Calrissian costume was getting to put on the iconic cape.

Solo: A Star Wars Story actor Donald Glover has revealed exactly what it was like to wear the iconic costume of Lando Calrissian, singling out the cape as the most exciting part of the ensemble to put on. After much behind-the-scenes wrangling that saw Ron Howard take over from Phil Lord and Christopher Miller as director, Solo is finally set for release later this month and the Star Wars marketing machine is heading into top gear, despite the immense secrecy still surrounding the movie. Solo is the second anthology Star Wars movie after 2016's Rogue One and is a prequel venture for the iconic Han Solo, with Alden Ehrenreich taking up the famous role from Harrison Ford.

Solo also marks the return of the fan-favorite Lando Calrissian. Lando appeared in both The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, played by Billy Dee Williams, but has yet to appear in the new trilogy of movies that began with J. J. Abrams' The Force Awakens. Star Wars fans will instead get to see a younger Calrissian in Solo who will be portrayed by Donald Glover. As well as being famous for his music work as Childish Gambino, Glover is known for his time on Atlanta, 30 Rock and Community.

Glover has now spoken about what it was like to put on the Lando Calrissian costume and take on the appearance of such an iconic character from cinema history. The actor was asked by a fan on the official Star Wars Twitter channel what it was like to wear the Lando costume for the very first time and duly replied:

"It was really great. The cape was the best part because you're waiting for the cape the entire time but it was also a really great feeling. And it looked so different but also the same as Lando always was so, yeah, I think it was beautiful."

As Glover suggests, the cape is more honoring the design worn by Billy Dee Williams in the original Star Wars trilogy than outright replicating it; the new version has a more sleek and modern design with a high collar and, perhaps appropriately, looks somewhat newer. Although Star Wars traditionalists might balk at the redesign, Glover's suggestion that the core of the outfit remains true is entirely accurate, as the newer version conveys Lando's ostentatious yet charming personality perfectly.

Despite his massive success in television, cinema and music - including the recent release of single "This Is America" to a rapturous reception - it's pleasing to see that Glover still has a sense of childish excitement about playing such a legendary movie hero and it seems he was as excited to try on Lando's classic cape as any fan would be. It also appears that humble sense of wonder has translated onto the big screen, as early reviews of Solo have singled out Glover's interpretation of Lando as a particular highlight of the movie.