Sorry, Donald Glover, but Billy Dee Williams is still Billy Dee Williams' favorite Lando Calrissian
“I took care of the 20th century, now he’s got to take care of the 21st,” Williams said of his successor.
If there's one thing Billy Dee Williams loves, it's Billy Dee Williams.
The smooth-as-a-frosty-Colt-45 actor recently spoke to Radio Times about his most famous role, Star Wars' interstellar playboy and con-man about Cloud City, Lando Calrissian.
While Williams has love for Donald Glover, who took over the role in 2018's Solo: A Star Wars Story, he doesn't think anyone can really do justice to Lando but him.
“I had a nice little lunch with him. He’s a delightful young man. Extremely talented,” Williams said of Glover. “But I don’t see him … I mean, when it comes to Lando Calrissian there’s only one Lando Calrissian. I created that character.”
Williams first appeared as Lando in 1980's The Empire Strikes Back, where he infamously betrays old friend Han Solo, leading him to a fate frozen in carbonite. Lando eventually redeems himself by helping Han's friends escape the Empire, and then in 1983's Return of the Jedi, helping to rescue Han from Jabba the Hut.
Still, Lando's betrayal never sat well with Star Wars fans and Williams found himself having to defend Lando's actions to random strangers over the years.
“So I found myself explaining all this stuff to a point where I finally said to people, ‘Look, I'm tired of explaining all of this.’ I said, ‘Did anybody die? Nobody died!’" Williams told EW's Dagobah Dispatch podcast. "I think that was a clear indication that Lando was trying to figure something out and he was trying to figure out primarily how to hold onto his situation without the complete demise of his friend.”
Williams again reprised the role for 2019's The Rise of Skywalker.
When Glover took up the mantle of Calrissian for a new generation, Williams had just two words of advice for him: "Be charming." Glover is now set to re-don his iconic cape to further expand on the Lando lore, writing a movie about everyone's favorite space-faring f-boy with his brother Stephen Glover.
The pair had originally been attached to write a Lando TV series, taking over from Dear White People scribe Justin Simien, although the project was put on pause during the writers strike. While Williams is protective of Lando's past, he's more than open for what Donald Glover has in store for his future.
“He’s part of a whole new generation. He’ll create whatever he needs to create, to bring appeal to the character,” Williams said. “He’s a very talented young lad and very imaginative. I mean, it’s not for me to say what he should do with the character at this stage.”
The OG Lando added, “I took care of the 20th century, now he’s got to take care of the 21st.”
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