Lando Calrissian

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Lando Calrissian was envisioned by George Lucas as a suave con man with the elegance of James Bond and the wit of Spock. Originally, Lucas considered him a clone from a ruling clan who might look like a normal human but possess manipulated genes similar to Rudolph Valentino, a concept that would have made Princess Leia distrustful. In The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Lando serves as Baron Administrator of Cloud City and the previous owner of Han Solo's ship, the Millennium Falcon. When Han, Leia, Chewbacca, and C-3PO arrive, Lando welcomes them but soon betrays them to Darth Vader to avoid Imperial control of his city. He allows Han to be frozen in carbonite but switches sides when Vader takes the others prisoner, helping them escape in the Falcon and assisting Luke Skywalker's rescue from beneath Cloud City. In Return of the Jedi (1983), Lando helps rescue Han from Jabba the Hutt, is promoted to general in the Rebel Alliance, and pilots the Millennium Falcon during the attack on the second Death Star.

In Their Own Story

The standalone film Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) depicts a younger Lando at the start of his relationship with Han. Set roughly thirteen years before The Empire Strikes Back, the film introduces Lando as a gambler and semi-retired smuggler who owns the Millennium Falcon. Han attempts to win the ship in a game of sabacc but loses because Lando cheats. However, Lando joins Han's mission for a share of the profits. During the heist, Lando is injured and abandons the group, only to have Han track him down and win the Falcon back. In The Rise of Skywalker (2019), an older Lando helps Rey find a Sith wayfinder and recruits fighters across the galaxy to aid the Resistance at Exegol. His cane in this film features Aurebesh text reading "Baron Lando Calrissian," though fans translated it as "Landonis Balthazar Calrissian III," a full name confirmed by the film's writers.

Reader's Guide

Billy Dee Williams portrayed Lando in The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker, earning Saturn Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor. Donald Glover played the younger version in Solo: A Star Wars Story and was expected to reprise the role in a new project; by September 2023, it was announced this would be a feature film co-written by Glover and his brother Stephen. Jonathan Kasdan, co-writer of Solo, stated Lando is pansexual, a trait Glover supported by noting that in space there are "so many things to have sex with." In 2021, Lando appeared in Marvel comics featuring LGBT characters. Williams was advised by Yaphet Kotto before being cast, and upon reading the script, found the cape and surname interesting to build around. Notably, while most characters pronounce Han's name "Hahn," Lando says it as "Han," a consistency maintained by Glover.

Did You Know?

• George Lucas originally envisioned Lando as a clone from a ruling clan, similar to Rudolph Valentino, which would have caused Princess Leia to distrust him.
• The Aurebesh text on Lando's cane in The Rise of Skywalker was translated by fans as "Landonis Balthazar Calrissian III," a name later confirmed by the film's writers.
• Jonathan Kasdan stated that Lando is pansexual, and Donald Glover responded to questions about this by asking, "How can you not be pansexual in space?"
• Billy Dee Williams was nominated for Saturn Awards for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in both The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.
• In Solo: A Star Wars Story, Han Solo wins back the Millennium Falcon from Lando after discovering that Lando cheated during their initial sabacc game.