Donald Glover Cast as Young Lando Calrissian in Han Solo Star Wars Film
The upcoming Han Solo stand alone movie just scored a major, major coup in nabbing Donald Glover as the young Lando Calrissian. First, let's us all just take a moment to appreciate that the film will even have a young Lando Calrissian. Next, let's contemplate how perfect Glover is for the role, both physically (he looks a whole lot like a young Billy Dee Williams, who himself was only 43 when he starred in The Empire Strikes Back) and talent-wise.
Glover is currently earning major praise for his FX series Atalnta, which he created and stars in. The show had the highest premiere numbers for any basic cable comedy show since 2013. Glover's not only an acclaimed actor, but an award-winning writer, and a Grammy-nominated artist. Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller have scored big time here; Glover can only elevate the film, which stars Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo, and will get to explore these two iconic characters and their early lives. Lucasfilm says that "this new film depicts Lando in his formative years as a scoundrel on the rise in the galaxy's underworld — years before the events involving Han, Leia, and Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back and his rise to Rebel hero in Return of the Jedi."
“We're so lucky to have an artist as talented as Donald join us,” said Lord and Miller in a press release. “These are big shoes to fill, and an even bigger cape, and this one fits him perfectly, which will save us money on alterations. Also, we'd like to publicly apologize to Donald for ruining Comic-Con for him forever.”
Glover wrote for Tina Fey's 30 Rock at the tender age of 21. He went on to star in four seasons of the show Community. As a musician, he performs under the name Childish Gambino, which he came to using the Wu-Tang Clan name generator, creating the Grammy-nominated album Because the Internet. In addition, Glover appeared in the Academy Award-nominated The Martian, and will be seen in the upcoming Spider-Man: Homecoming.
The untitled Han Solo movie is set for release in 2018.
