‘Star Wars’ Lando series with Donald Glover rumored to be in works at Disney+, fans want Calrissian Chronicles
One of the bigger ‘Star Wars’ highlights of 2018 was Donald Glover playing Lando Calrissian in ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ and for good reason. No one can take anything away from what Billy Dee Williams brought to the role back in the day but Glover as a cocky young Lando in the origin story of Han Solo was not just fun to watch, but also added a new dimension to the beloved character.
And ever since, fans have wanted a Lando film just to see more of Glover (and, of course, have more of Lando). That wish may not be a pipe dream. On Wednesday, July 22, a ‘Star Wars’ podcast called Kessel Run Transmissions run by Corey Van Dyke and Noah Outlaw, made an extraordinary claim. The podcast said Glover will return to the role of Lando Calrissian for a new Disney+ original series.
The podcasters said Glover is either in negotiations with Lucasfilm for a new 'Star Wars' series on Disney+, or he may have already signed the contract for one. They did, however, mention that things are still taking shape, and could possibly fall through before anything tangible happens. This news also falls in line with what Star Wars Unity, a fansite for the franchise, reported earlier this year in February.
The Star Wars Unity report speculated that Glover could return in a Lando spinoff series, which would likely be set in the timeline of ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’. Naturally, the story would focus on Lando navigating the underworld, run by crime syndicates like Crimson Dawn and Black Sun, which were under the control of Darth Maul at that time.
Despite no official announcement or confirmation of any kind, this rumor already has fans excited. It’s also worth noting that a Lando spin-off series makes sense, especially seeing how ‘Star Wars’ spin-offs have brought enormous success to the franchise. ‘The Mandalorian’ has been a massive hit. So has ‘Rogue One’. The same is true for ‘Resistance’, and ‘Rebels’. And if Disney+ plans to milk this further, it would only make sense to have on board someone with as much mass appeal (and talent) as Glover.
But while we are speculating, it is also important to remember that Glover’s mass appeal may also be a problem, especially considering how in-demand he is. It is altogether possible that Glover -- if the rumors stand -- may have other commitments in place. And while neither Disney nor Lucasfilms lacks any dearth of resources, the present climate of the pandemic also makes it difficult to plan on creating and executing something as terribly complex as a ‘Star Wars’ spin-off.
Confirmation or not, fans already have ideas about what they want and how they want it. One fan wrote on Twitter, "The Lando series should be called ‘The Calrissian Chronicles’ and every episode should start with him dictating the chapter of his memoir about what's going to happen in the episode.” This is obviously a reference to Glover’s performance as Lando in ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’, where he records his adventures, which he calls 'The Calrissian Chronicles'.
Several more expressed this idea. “If they don't call the Lando show ‘The Calrissian Chronicles’, it'll be as big a mistake as not releasing a trailer for Solo until three months before the movie was released,” wrote another fan.
Another fan speculated, “Imagine if the show uses Lando telling Jannah about his adventures as a framework and it all takes place in a flashback. This way you could have Billy [Dee Williams] do some narration and maybe exaggerate some details as he tells the story.” Jannah, played by Naomi Ackie in ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’, is a former First Order stormtrooper from Kef Bir who later became an ally of the Resistance.
Another fan said, “I am so f***ing thrilled that Donald Glover might return to play Lando for Disney+. I have two requests: 1. Let him be the space pansexual we all know he is. I wanna see him hook up [with] men, women, aliens, and droids. 2. Bring back L3,” referring to L3-37, the prickly piloting droid who was an associate of Lando.
Let’s hope that just in case this rumor is true, Disney+ considers all of these suggestions.