More than two and a half years ago, Disney+made the possible mistake of going broadly public with its intentions to deliver a Lando TV series, with Donald Glover believed to be reprising the role he brought to prequelized life in Solo: A Star Wars Story. It’s been a long and quiet road from then to now, with EP and story writer Justin Simien recently drawing attention to the lack of forward progress in that section of the galaxy. But despite all the frustration and disappointment that Simien’s update may have caused, I’m probably more hopeful now than any point in the past two years that Lando could actually come together.
Justin Simien’s Lando Update
For those who aren’t yet aware, Simien spoke with TheDirect about his upcoming big-screen effort, Disney’s The Haunted Mansion, and was asked about where things were at with Lando. He made it sound like fans would have a better shot of trapping the Hatbox Ghost than of seeing the playboy pilot heading up his own streaming show. According to the Dear White People director, that announcement was the beginning and the end of his most current knowledge, as he claimed he has “not received an update since that update.” He continued, saying:
I certainly poured my heart and spent a lot of time working with them to put together a really great show. It feels like everybody loves it. And, you know, I was told we had to put a pause on it because of scheduling, and the next update I got [was in 2020], some years ago. So I don't know, I have no idea what's going on with it.
While it's not clear exactly how much of Lando was crafted by Justin Simien and other members of his creative team, but it sounds like at least an outline was crafted, if not something of a working pilot script. And so for all intents and purposes, it seems like Disney's brass doesn't have very much standing in the way of Lando's development process starting up again, except for the availability of its presumed star Donald Glover. And though he's also had to play very coy about jumping back into Lando Calrissian mode in the Star Wars universe, he did address it very briefly back in April 2023, saying that Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy would maul him if he shared more. And for what it's worth, Kennedy herself hinted in 2022 that Glover was the one that "holds all the cards" when it comes to this project.
So when might he be able to stack those cards up into the shape of a house in Cloud City? Possibly very soon, assuming he doesn't sign on to join upcoming sequels in the Fast & Furious and Avatar franchises.
Donald Glover May Soon Actually Have The Time To Make Lando
Back when Disney+ announced Lando alongside a slew of other projects, Donald Glover still hadn't yet been able to get Atlanta Season 3's production off the ground, due to COVID delays and restrictions. The third and fourth seasons of the acclaimed FX comedy were filmed back to back throughout much of 2021, and it was confirmed those would round out the series' full run, with both airing to further praise in 2022. So barring any Paper Boi spinoffs in running, Glover definitely won't have any Atlanta-based commitments on the horizon.
In the midst of all that, Glover has also been heavily invested (alongside Francesca Sloane) in the creation of Amazon Studios' upcoming Mr. and Mrs. Smith, a reboot of the Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie feature of the same name. The Mystery Team vet was initially partnered with Phoebe Waller-Bridge for the series, but she exited the project seven months later over creative differences, and that role was later filled by PEN15's Maya Erskine. After a fairly long span of waiting for more updates from that project, a sizzle reel for upcoming Prime Video films and shows delivered our very first looks, albeit in very brief form. So it stands to reason that Mr. and Mrs. Smith will make its streaming debut before 2023 has concluded.
If that's the case, then Donald Glover could conceivably at long last have the time on his schedule to devote to a Lando project, whether it be an episodic series, a one-off special, or a feature. And assuming he genuinely does want to jump back into the role again, one can then assume that Kathleen Kennedy and others at Disney and Lucasfilm would leap at the chance to put things in motion. (Obviously the WGA writers strike and the SAG-AFTRA strike raise some pertinent hurdles, but hopefully those deals will get made sooner rather than later.)
Technically, the only thing that Glover would have on the way would be returning to the role of Troy for the Community movie, and Joel McHale seems convinced the actor will return. But that likely won't be too arduous a commitment, unless Disney+ suddenly becomes the latest service to resurrect the fan-fave comedy, and gets in the way of its own Lando project. While waiting to see where things are going, check out all the upcoming Star Wars projects that we know about.
