Billy Dee Williams, who created the role of Lando Calrissian in the “Star Wars” franchise, spoke to Radio Times about Donald Glover’s portrayal of the smooth-talking smuggler turned rebellious hero.
“I had a nice little lunch with him. He’s a delightful young man. He’s very talented,” Williams said. “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 also shared the only advice he gave Glover about playing Lando: “I asked him to be a wizard — two words! That’s all I needed to tell him. That’s all I could think about.”
Glover first appeared as a young Lando in the 2018 “Star Wars” prequel “Solo.” A Lando Calrissian limited series for Disney+ was first announced in 2020, with “Dear White People” creator Justin Simien attached to the project. Then news broke in July 2023 that brothers Donald and Stephen Glover would replace Simien as writers of the “Lando” series, which is now being developed as a film.
“He’s part of a whole new generation. He’ll create whatever he needs to create, to give the character gravitas,” Williams said of Glover. “He’s a very talented, imaginative young man. “I mean, it’s not my place to say what he should do with the character at this point.”
“I took care of the 20th century, and now he has to take care of the 21st century,” Williams added.
Asked if he would take up the mantle of Lando again in another Star Wars project, Williams said: “Pay me a lot of money and I’ll sell my soul.”