The Star Wars series starring Rand is coming to Disney Plus, but it is still unclear who will be in the cockpit As part of Disney Investor Day, the company announced a number of Star Wars Disney Plus announcements One of them was the confirmation of the Lando project and the news that Justin Simien (creator of Dear White People) will be at its helm
Lando Calrissian was first played by Billy Dee Williams in the original Star Wars trilogy films The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi Donald Glover played a younger version of the character in Solo: A Star Wars Story Williams later returned in "Skywalker Strikes Back"
Rumors of a Land series first circulated last July when the podcast Kessel Run Transmission claimed that Grover was set to appear on the Disney Plus show
Grover's portrayal of the young Lando stood out in "Solo," a film that took twists and turns (including a directorial switch to Ron Howard) and was somewhat disappointing at the box office However, the film has always had a following and has gained more fans while streaming on Netflix and now Disney Plus
Disney's announcement of the land show did not mention Grover or Williams The project is in the "early stages" of development by Simien It is also described as an "event series," indicating that it is a one-off [We will update this page as further information becomes available What we know so far about the Land Star Wars series is as follows
A release date for the Land series has not yet been set
Unlike other Disney Plus shows mentioned on Investor Day, such as Star Wars: Andor, not even a target year for the show's debut has been set
Film and television productions that were halted due to the coronavirus pandemic are back in business, but things are still not "full speed ahead"
It is billed as a limited series, so unlike the eight episodes of a full season of The Mandalorian, Rand may have six or fewer If Simien writes the episodes fairly quickly and casting is finalized, the show could begin filming in late 2021 If that happens, the show would premiere after "Andor" and "Star Wars: Ahsoka" in late 2022 However, Disney Plus has several other "Star Wars" projects that may move ahead, so we may not see Lando until 2023
Disney did not reveal anything about the Land series star at the Investor Day event The podcast "Kessel Run Transmissions" claimed Donald Glover's involvement, but also revealed that the idea of another Lando centered on the aging Rand (Williams) and his long-lost daughter Jana (Naomi Ackie) was "floating around Lucasfilm" He also revealed
We are leaning toward the possibility of Williams being the lead
Why? Grover is an actor, producer, and musician (under the name Childish Gambino) and is very, very much in demand Fans have been waiting for over two years for Season 3 of his FX comedy Atlanta No matter how iconic a character Rand is and how well received his performance in "Solo" was, it seems highly unlikely that Grover will appear on Rand's show
Still, it would be even more so if Grover teamed up with Simien as a producer
If the Lando series goes Grover's route, it could be a prequel covering the period before Lando met Han Solo This would be especially exciting because of the possible appearance of Lando's droid companion and navigator L3-37 (voiced by Phoebe Waller-Bridge) Or, if this show is a sequel to "Solo," it may follow Lando as he finally builds Cloud City Han could make an appearance, but Alden Ayenreich has poured cold water on talk of a sequel in a recent interview
If the Rand show goes the Williams route, it would be the first post-sequel trilogy for the franchise (aside from the "LEGO Star Wars" holiday special) The show could feature Akki and other actors from Rise of Skywalker John Boyega has publicly stated that he is "parting ways" with "Star Wars," but it is possible that other cast members may appear, such as Kelly Marie Tran as Rose and Junas Suotamo as Chewbacca
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