It’s been years since Lucasfilm offered concrete updates on Lando, though what we do know about the project is promising. The spin-off has been in the works for a long time, and while its predecessor, Solo: A Star Wars Story, was a problem child for the franchise, the powers that be seem to have plenty of faith in its successor. In 2023, Lando was upgraded from a series to a movie, which has to say something about its chances of success. Donald Glover (who played a younger Lando Calrissian to perfection in Solo) is even set to write and produce, along with his brother Stephen Glover.
The Glovers are still working on a script, and with Donald Glover’s plate reportedly full of other projects, there’s no telling when we’ll actually see the finished product. Still, Glover is offering insight into the film whenever possible, which he believes could bring back something that’s been missing from modern Star Wars... fun.
“As a Star Wars fan myself, I think it’s important that there just needs to be more fun being had,” Glover recently told The Wall Street Journal. “Star Wars, I love it, but sometimes it be super serious. Sometimes it be, like, way too serious. It’s like everything that has to do with the Skywalkers, is like so serious.”
Glover chalks up the franchise’s tonal pivot to our own real-world circumstances. “It’s very hard to have fun right now,” he continued. “There are very serious things happening and those are the only things that connect us, weirdly — so I get why things are serious. But part of the human experience, I believe, is we have a responsibility to have enjoyment, and I just feel like we’re lacking in that department.”
Glover’s observations sum up the state of the franchise. Sure, Star Wars is about conflict, so there is a degree of maturity needed to tell those stories. And while some of the franchise’s best stories succeed by tapping into despair and anxiety, Star Wars is in dire need of a counterbalance. The original trilogy found opportunities for levity wherever possible, which made an otherwise heavy story about fascism and corruption more watchable. Glover believes that’s what the saga is missing now, and he hopes a legacy character like Lando can bring that sense of fun back.
“Lando, I think the best part about him is he’s a scoundrel, and I feel like people can relate to that,” Glover continued. “And he’s probably like, ‘Man, this war is whack. I need money,’ which I feel everyone can relate to.”
If Glover gets his way, Lando could be the most relatable Star Wars project in a while. No matter how dark things get, the world does keep turning, and we all have to find ways to keep going. For some, it’s by cutting loose and seeking joy, which can be its own form of resistance. Hopefully, Lando can show us how Star Wars characters soldier on in their day-to-day lives, and have fun doing it.
