Lucasfilm Is Planning A Lando Calrissian Spinoff Movie

Screen Rant

Lucasfilm Is Planning A Lando Calrissian Spinoff Movie [UPDATED]

By Chris Agar

Published May 16, 2018

Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy reveals the studio wants to make a spinoff centering on Donald Glover's Lando Clarissian next.

UPDATE: Shortly after this story broke, Lucasfilm reached out to Premiere France to say there was a misunderstanding. "We would love to tell a story about Lando Calrissian one day, but it's not relevant, it would be fun to tell the story of Han and Chewie." The original article follows.

Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy says a Star Wars spinoff revolving around Lando Calrissian might be the next in the line of anthology films. Introduced in The Empire Strikes Back, the character became a quick fan-favorite thanks to Billy Dee Williams' suave portrayal of the scoundrel. After appearing in Return of the Jedi, Lando was absent from the films until this month's Solo: A Star Wars Story, where Donald Glover portrays a younger version of Calrissian.

Early reviews for Solo are generally positive, with Glover being singled out as one of the highlights. The Atlanta star's casting in the prequel was so well-received, viewers immediately voiced a desire to see Lando be the subject of his own spinoff movie. Apparently, the higher-ups at Lucasfilm are keen on that idea too, since that film is said to be in the works.

While speaking to Premiere France following Solo's screening at the Cannes Film Festival, Kennedy talked briefly about the future of the franchise and what spinoffs the studio would look to make next. She specifically mentioned the future Baron Administrator in her comments:

“We think that the next spinoff will be dedicated to Lando Calrissian. Of course, there are still many stories to tell about Han and Chewbacca, but Lando will be next.”

This development isn't particularly shocking for a variety of reasons. As indicated above, Lando is poised to become the breakout star of Solo once the general public gets a chance to see it, and people are going to want more of the character. Additionally, Glover is one of the hottest in-demand talents of the moment, meaning it would be foolish for Lucasfilm to only use him for a single movie. The actor clearly has a passion for Lando and the Star Wars franchise in general, so it's nice that he'll (hopefully) get a chance to flesh Calrissian out even further. Since Lando's role in the Skywalker saga was that of a supporting player, he's someone who would benefit from future spinoffs. It remains to be seen what the story would be, but there's no shortage of possibilities.

Kennedy's revelation raises a few more question marks about Star Wars' future post-Episode IX, as they already had multiple projects coming through the pipeline. They've officially announced plans for Rian Johnson's new trilogy, as well as a separate series from Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. Additionally, rumors continue to circulate about an Obi-Wan Kenobi spinoff movie happening soon, and most members of the Solo creative team are actively talking about sequels to that movie. There's no telling what else Lucasfilm is working on, and hopefully their slate becomes clearer soon.