Donald Glover Reacts To Being Told He’s Returning To Star Wars
An interesting response.
This article is more than 2 years old
Someone told Donald Glover he was returning to Star Wars last night, and it didn’t unfold the way most film and TV casting happens. In fact, the guy who delivered the “news” to Glover had no business doing it. The culprit was talk show host Jimmy Kimmel on last night’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live, and Glover was clearly not expecting what the host had to say.
Donald Glover appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live to promote the third and final season of his acclaimed dramedy Atlanta. During the interview, Kimmel asked about some of the actor’s other work, including his musical projects as Childish Gambino. Toward the very end of the interview, the host threw in the curve ball, “And you’re working on a new Lando project for Disney+ right now.” You can see that moment and Glover’s reaction below.
As you can tell if you watch the clip, Donald Glover is not yet ready to either confirm or deny his return to the role of Lando Calrissian. In response to Kimmel not even asking but just straight-up saying he’s working on the Lando series, Glover chuckles and says, “Am I? [You’re] just telling all my business.” He goes on to completely dodge the Star Wars question, saying, “No, yeah, I have a lot of things… I have like a ton of stuff I’ve been working on, but I just wanted it all to come out at the same time. I feel like that’s what’s important to me.”
The Star Wars: Lando series was first announced at the end of 2020, as reported by The Verge. Disney describes it as an “event series” and it is reportedly being developed by Dear White People creator Justin Simien. Little else has been revealed about the project, including whether or not it will be Donald Glover in the lead role.
Billy Dee Williams originated the role of Lando Calrissian in 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back, after the late Yaphet Kotto turned it down. He’s since reprised the role in live-action twice — in 1983’s Return of the Jedi and later in 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker. But 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story was set years before the events of the original Star Wars trilogy, and needed a younger actor. Solo didn’t prove to be the most well performing or well loved chapter of the Star Wars saga, but even the film’s harshest critics mostly were impressed with Glover’s performance.
There’s a good chance fans who want Donald Glover to reprise the role are worried about some of the actor’s past behavior. He hasn’t always proven to be the most open when it comes to returning to projects he’s already said goodbye to. For example, as remembered by Cinema Blend, he passed on reprising the role of Troy for the finale of the sitcom Community.
Of course, it could be that no one’s asked Donald Glover. If it turns out the series is set later in the Star Wars narrative, it could be Billy Dee Williams who’s called for. Or, who knows? Maybe both? With scenes set during different times? When we know, we’ll make sure you know.
