The Star Wars franchise is coming at us full tilt, with Disney and Lucasfilm producing both main installments and contained standalone movies. The latter was tested with Rogue One, bridging the gap between the prequel trilogy and A New Hope. That period of time will be further explored with Solo: A Star Wars Story, with director Ron Howard also tasked with revealing the backstory of the title character, as well as Chewbacca and Lando Calrissian. The latter will be played by Donald Glover, and a recent commercial video posted on social media revealed an interesting connection with Lando's role in Return of the Jedi. Jedi opens with the group infiltrating Jabba's lair to rescue Han, and now we may know how Lando manages his disguise.
This brief shot, which comes to us from Reddit, shows Chewbacca and Han in precarious positions. While casual moveigoers may be more concerned about why they're in chains, eagle eyed Star Wars fans will spot Lando's disguise in the background. It's currently occupied by its rightful owner, and it should be interesting to see how Ron Howard ultimately weaves that gear into the narrative. Is he one of Lando's men, meaning he could simply borrow the guise in the time before Return of the Jedi? Or perhaps the caped hero goes toe to toe with that character, and takes his gear home as a souvenir. Lando certainly has the space for it in Solo, as Donald Glover recently revealed an entire room just for capes aboard the Millennium Falcon.
In the Star Wars canon, Billy Dee Williams' Lando Calrissian took on the persona Tamtel Skreej prior to Return of the Jedi. He managed to get involved with Jabba's crew, and could therefore serve as a mole and sleeper cell once Luke arrived. While they have some hiccups along the way, the group is ultimately able to get Han out safe, although Lando very nearly ends up in the Sarlacc Pit. It's a fan favorite costume for Lando, before he quickly returns to his typical adornments.
A recent study revealed that the younger generation of Star Wars fans are actually more excited to see Lando in Solo: A Star Wars Story than Alden Ehrenreich's title character. OG fans are also eager to finally check back in with the scoundrel, as there hasn't been any sights or even mention of Lando in the current trilogy. In fact, Rian Johnson almost wrote a part for Billy Dee Williams in The Last Jedi, but decided against it. Hopefully Episode IX can finally explain where the hell Lando has been, and the fandom will have added excitement after seeing his backstory expanded only a year earlier.
Solo: A Star Wars Story will arrive in theaters May 25th. In the meantime, check out our 2018 release list to plan your net trip to the movies.
