The original Lando Calrissian , Billy Dee Williams , is returning to theStar Warsgalaxy forStar state of war : Episode IX , in a story that is wait to wrap up the subsequence trilogy , and mayhap the entire Skywalker saga .

TheStar Warsfranchise is expand under the guide hand of Disney and Lucasfilm ’s Kathleen Kennedy . Three year in a row , the franchise pumped out yearly billion - one dollar bill hits , though they rack up something of a financial snag withSolo : A Star Wars Story ’s underwhelming box office riposte .

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Din Djarin and Ahsoka-1

As product start onEpisode IX , direct by J.J. Abrams , prevision for the presumed net chapter in the continuation trilogy is beginning to build . Whileplot details onEpisode IXare being keep tightly under wraps , one huge question on everybody ’s mind has been this : where ’s Lando ?

Indeed , Lando Calrissian , one of the original trilogy ’s most universally beloved characters , has been prominently absent from the sequel films . ActorBilly Dee Williams first played the iconic roguesmuggler / charming distance dandy / legitimate man of affairs in 1980’sThe Empire Strikes Back . After the original trilogy wrapped up , he ’s returned to voice the character in a number of recent projects like the animatedStar Wars : Rebelsseries , theStar war : Battlefront IIvideo game , and even made a decidedly non - canon cameo inThe LEGO Movie . Still , Williams has n’t appeared in bouncy - legal action since 1983’sReturn of the Jedi . It been a long time coming , but his moment has arrived ; Billy Dee Williams has been confirm to seem inStar warfare : Episode IX .

Where is Lando in the Sequel Trilogy?

It ’s only fair for Lando to play a significant role inEpisode IX , since he ’s pretty much the only member of the original cast who has yet to make an appearance in the new series . Harrison Ford , Carrie Fisher , Mark Hamill , and even Frank Oz have all give as their classic characters , so Lando deserves his chance to shine , and not just in a glorified cameo .

With that in psyche , what exactly has Lando been up to , in - universe of discourse ? Even with the wealth of new canyon in the physical body of novels , funny Word of God , and animated programme , there ’s astonishingly picayune contingent about Lando ’s life after the fall of the Galactic Empire , though he appear in a wealth of linkup - in cloth . Star Wars : Battlefront IIshows that he remained with the Rebel Alliance as they slowly consolidate their victory over the Empire , but after that , his whereabouts are mostly unknown .

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Lando ’s   latest credit in the canon timelinecame in the novelBloodline , which is typeset six year beforeStar Wars : The Force Awakens . The novel focuses on Senator Leia Organa as she navigates politics during the rise of The First Order . At one point in the novel , she becomes sweep up in a political scandal which arises when the public let out that her father was none other thanDarth Vader . It ’s sound out that Lando was among several friends who extend well - indirect request and support during this period of not bad difficulty for the political leader . While he does n’t make an factual , physical appearance in the story , at least the audience bed he ’s alive and well , if perhaps retain a humbled profile . It ’s almost as if Lucasfilm had mandated that old humans Lando be kept off - limits until he made his proper debut in the movies . In the Pb - up to Episode IX , it ’s a dependable stakes that much of Lando ’s backstory will be let on in novels , comics , and – hopefully – inStar Wars : Resistance .

Page 2 of 2:How Will Lando Play Into the Plot of Star Wars 9?

How Will Lando Play Into the Plot of Star Wars 9?

So far , each incoming in theStar Warssequel trilogy has focused on one character from the original film acting as something of a mentor to the young cast of the new picture . InEpisode VII , it was Han Solo introducing Rey and Finn into this with child creation , andEpisode VIIIsaw Luke Skywalker instruct Rey the way of The Force while light upon there were still lessons leave for him to learn , as well . It was somewhat expected by many thatEpisode IXwould feature Leia as the wizened wise man , establish off her increased function inStar war : TheLastJedi , maybe eventaking the function of Rey ’s raw Jedi instructor . Sadly , actorCarrie Fisher pass awayin December 2016 . She had make out her body of work onThe Last Jedi , and writer / director Rian Johnson finally decidednot to change her office in any way , as a tribute to Fisher .

gratuitous to say , Carrie Fisher will not be inEpisode IX , and Lucasfilm has say they haveno plans to digitally recreateLeia using stand - ins and CGI , so the question becomes : who will carry her great mullein ? Who will represent the original trilogy as this new trilogy comes to a close ? The answer seems to be Lando .

Lucasfilm has been hold open Lando Calrissian , keep his whereabouts a secret , possible so he can make his gilded homecoming inEpisode IX.Star war : The Last Jediended with The Resistance down , but not out . Luke Skywalker reignited Leslie Townes Hope in the galaxy , and the free systems are rumbling with that spark of insurrection which , time and prison term again , has keep tyranny at true laurel . The galaxy is a pulverization kegful , ready and waiting to fight back against the totalitarianism of The First Order .

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Admiral Ackbar is dead . Han Solo is dead . Luke Skywalker is dead . Admiral Holdo is numb . General Ematt is alive , but only Wookiepedia scholars can identify that eccentric . just put , The Resistance is in need of leaders in the form of an elder national leader who knows   his way around a battlefield . Aside from Wedge Antilles , who has also been missing sinceReturn of the Jedi(the legend go thatDenis Lawsonnot being interested in a walk - on cameo role , but would be open to returning if Wedge was contribute a right supporting role ) , Lando is the only character who fits the Federal Reserve note .

Part of Lando ’s use should include addressing the proverbial elephant in the way – where has he been this whole sentence ? Why has n’t Lando been with The Resistance ? Is he put out ? Was he struggle on another front ? Or , most in all probability , has he been using his legitimate commercial enterprise ventures as a front for supplying aid to Leia and her freedom fighters ?

Star Wars 9 Billy Dee Williams Lando

Will Lando Get Killed Off Like the Other Original Cast Members?

When Lando appears inEpisode IX , he will likely assume a salient place in The Resistance . After all , he was a General in the Rebellion , and The Resistance is in motivation of leadership , specially since Leia will likely be abstracted from the film , though it is presently unknown how the filmmakers plan to resolve her character arc . One way or another , Leia ’s absence seizure will be explain away , and Lando could lead The Resistance in their final battle against The First Order .

Speaking of battles , this raises another interrogation : if Lando crop up up in Episode IX , will he survive ?

Han Solo returned forEpisode VIIand decease . Luke Skywalker returned forEpisode VIIIand choke . It does n’t take a crack detective to notice the tendency . Had General Leia been part ofEpisode IX , would she have outlive ? If her purpose is adapt for Lando , what is his life expectancy ? It ’s tough to hail up with fairish answers based on multiple layers of meditation , but a major theme in the sequel trilogy has been burying the past , one way or another . Rey was invariably front to her past , hold off forher parentsto return , then desire they would be someone particular like Luke or Han , only to discover they were losers who sold her off for wassail money , will her without a past … But with a futurity .

Billy Dee Williams as Lando on the Rebel command ship in Return of the Jedi

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as well , very few fans will ever forget their worked up turmoil when Kylo Ren murdered his own father , entomb the past and forge his own path as the ultimate wielder of the Dark Side of The Force , a path he continued on when he killed his master , Supreme Leader Snoke . Even Luke Skywalker choose to sacrifice himself in a successful attempt to restrain back The First Order and purchase the Rebels sufficient time to escape and subsist to fight another day .

Then again , Rey did take the original Jedi texts and stowed them away on the Millennium Falcon , ensuring that the way of the Jedi would never really break and that she could attend to the past tense for counseling while deciding what kind of future she would build up . And , of course , Luke told his babe , Leia , " No one ’s ever really gone , " a line with a multitude of meanings , both in - universe and out .

Lando Calrissian is finally returning to theStar Warsgalaxy . He ’s not a Jedi , but he is a Rebel , and it ’s doubtful he would let The Resistance wither and exit when there ’s a opportunity he could aid them overtake the odds and defeat The First Order .

Lando Calrissian Episode 9

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