As soon as Solo: A Star Wars Story was announced, everyone was like “damn, why not Lando: A Star Wars Story?” Then we doubled-down on that idea when Donald Glover was cast as Lando, because Glover is pretty much the only actor who could and should play a young Billy Dee Williams. For real though: Lando is the mysterious one. Lando is the one who deserves more of a backstory in the Star Wars canon. Lando is the one to build a prequel around. But instead we got Alden Ehrenreich trying to smirk his way into an approximation of Harrison Ford. Anyway, even the people involved with this film know that there’s so much more interest in Lando, which is why they can’t shut up about Lando. Apparently, screenwriter Jonathan Kasdan believes that Lando has always been pansexual. Sure!
Lando’s sexual preferences ― possibly including men, women and droids ― are the subject of more than a few lines of dialogue in “Solo.” For example, the banter between Lando and Han Solo has been interpreted as flirting by some critics who have seen the film before its May 25 release…. So, given the opportunity to speak with father-and-son “Solo” co-writers Lawrence and Jonathan Kasdan, I asked them about Lando’s possible sexual fluidity. Is he pansexual?
“I would say yes,” Jonathan Kasdan emphatically said.
“There’s a fluidity to Donald and Billy Dee’s [portrayal of Lando’s] sexuality,” Kasdan continued. “I mean, I would have loved to have gotten a more explicitly LGBT character into this movie. I think it’s time, certainly, for that, and I love the fluidity ― sort of the spectrum of sexuality that Donald appeals to and that droids are a part of. He doesn’t make any hard and fast rules. I think it’s fun. I don’t know where it will go.”
Simply judging from the trailers and having watched the OG Star Wars trilogy a million times, I would say that Billy Dee’s Lando was intended to be an intergalactic lady’s man, but with some pansexual vibes, and that Glover’s Lando is more pansexual or “open” to whatever and whomever. But is that how canon-Lando is written, or is that the vibes that Billy Dee and Donald Glover bring to the role? I don’t know. But is it a cop-out to just talk about this after-the-fact, rather than make the character’s sexuality (or pansexuality) explicit? Hm.
Photos courtesy of LucasFilm/Disney and WENN.
What nonesense. They say it but there won’t be anything in the film. Maybe the mildest of innuendo. Queer baiting from Disney as usual.
At the end of the day, they want this to be a family film, so I can see them taking it down a notch in the sexuality department, because, Billy Dee and Donald are pretty much sex on legs in the films anyway.
ITA with the last part of your sentence – as much as I loved Han, Ford never did it for me. Lando or should I say Williams was the one that got me giggly, don’t know if it was the way he swished around in a cape, cheeky grin or the glint in his eye – you just knew you’d have a good time with him.
Its a cop out just like it was when JKR said Dumbledore was gay AFTER all the books came out.
And I wish they just made a lando movie outright.
When I finished reading the last Harry Potter book, the FIRST thing I thought was, “Is Dumbledore gay? Because I think she’s saying Dumbledore is gay.”
I’m astonished at all the people who say Rowling pulled that out of nowhere. She gave Dumbledore a passionate youthful crush on another boy, a swishy purple suit and high heels when he was a young man, and a male “friend” his own age who was mourning him way too hard at the funeral.
Is it wrong that I have zero interest in a fictional characters sexuality??? Jeez
Are we talking pan-sexual the way that Captain Kirk was always getting it on?
Then yeah I can see that.
I can dig it.
I’m probably going to wait until Solo hits Redbox, but I’d watch the hell out of a Lando Star Wars Story. He’s ambitious, charismatic, funny, and suave as f**k.
If people want to perceive that as being pansexual- more power to them. I just think those are great elements of a compelling character.
I’m a little surprised this site hasn’t written anything about the “This is America” video. The social commentary in that video was beyond amazing. There were so many layers to it. Then the appropriation of the video by a white feminist who completely trivialized the statement the video tried to make. Or Glover’s show Atlanta and how the Teddy Perkins episode was phenomenal. There is so much to say about Donald Glover right now and Lando seems to be the least if it!