As you’ve likely heard already, Star Wars: Episode IX will see Billy Dee Williams make his long-awaited return to the series in the role of Lando Calrissian, and seeing how Lucasfilm has announced his involvement in advance, we can probably assume that this is more than a Yoda-style surprise cameo they have in mind. That being said, according a new report from Making Star Wars, Lando’s comeback won’t exactly be dominating the runtime.
Drawing on intel from inside sources, the piece alleges that Williams doesn’t sound like he’ll have a particularly large part to play in J.J. Abrams’ upcoming film. Specifically, the report likens Lando’s role to Maz Kanata from The Force Awakens, in that his purpose in the plot will largely consist of pointing the way on the heroes’ journey to the next MacGuffin. It’s also said that the character will be wearing a yellow shirt akin to the one worn by Donald Glover in Solo: A Star Wars Story, as well as boasting a “fancy blue cape” and a gentleman’s cane.
Though these claims are all awaiting official confirmation, Lando was indeed seen wearing a yellow shirt as described in this weekend’s concept art leak. As for the suggestion that he won’t have a particularly big role in the next film, as much as fans may be disappointed to see Williams’ screen time limited to a few minutes, the idea seems plausible enough. After all, Episode IX is already working with a pretty sizable cast, and you can expect much of the focus to be on wrapping up the arcs of Sequel Trilogy regulars like Rey and Kylo Ren.
Regardless, we’ll find out what Lando’s comeback brings to the table when Star Wars: Episode IX hits theaters on December 20th, 2019.