It's been a while since Lando Calrissian popped up in a Star Wars movie. We last saw him celebrating the second Death Star's destruction with his friends on Endor at the end of Return of the Jedi, but for right now, his whereabouts during the current Star Wars trilogy are unknown. However, in a couple months we'll see what Lando was like in his younger years when Donald Glover takes over the role in Solo: A Star Wars Story, and according to Glover, Star Wars fans will see a Lando who's trying harder to prove himself. As the actor put it:
I think he's probably a little more over the top because he's not old enough to be like, you don't have to push so hard by the time you own the city. By then he's like, I don't need to prove anything to anybody, you know?
When we met Lando Calrissian in The Empire Strikes Back, he was the administrator of Cloud City, and while he was still suave like he's been his whole adult life (probably in his kid and teen years, too), it's not like he had to do much to show that he was capable and resourceful. In Solo: A Star Wars Story, on the other hand, Lando is a smuggler on the rise in the galaxy's underworld, so he still has a ways to go to prove to his fellow criminals, particularly ones in positions of power, that he's someone who should be respected. Hence why he's "over the top" and trying harder.
Donald Glover also told EW that although he spoke with Billy Dee Williams for advice on Lando Calrissian (Williams told Glover to be "charming" and "be interested in things"), he made sure to portray the character in a way where he can't even imagine himself becoming so successful. As Glover put it:
I always like seeing younger characters when they are in younger times because it tells a lot about how they got to where they are. Like, when I was a teenager I felt like I knew a lot, but I didn't. By the time we meet him in Empire Strikes Back, he owns the city already. [Laughs] So, I wanted to show the person he was before that was even possible. Like, I don't even know if he thought that was possible at the time.
Within the official Star Wars canon, Lando Calrissian's pre-Empire Strikes Back life has been touched on in Star Wars Rebels and the character's 2015 Marvel Comics miniseries, but Solo: A Star Wars Story will be the best way for Star Wars fans both casual and hardcore to learn how he was long before setting up shop on Bespin, let alone becoming a Rebel hero. Lando and his droid companion L3-37 will meet Han Solo as the main protagonist tries to forge his own path in the galactic underworld, which will include pulling off a daring heist.
Solo: A Star Wars Story hits theaters on May 25. As for the year's other movies, you can find release date information in our 2018 premiere guide.
