Billy Dee Williams had lunch with his Star Wars successor Donald Glover and told him to “be charming” when playing Lando Calrissian.
The actor originated the role of the smooth-talking smuggler in The Empire Strikes Back and reprised the role in the follow-up film Return of the Jedi. Glover took over the role in the spin-off film, Solo: A Star Wars Story, and will be back as Landro in a new movie based on the character.
“I had a nice little lunch with him. He’s a delightful young man. Extremely talented. But I don’t see him … I mean, when it comes to Lando Calrissian there’s only one Lando Calrissian. I created that character,” Williams told Radio Times.
“I told him to be charming – two words! That’s all I needed to tell him. That’s all I could think of,” the Mahogany star replied when asked what advice he gave to his young successor.
“He’s part of a whole new generation. He’ll create whatever he needs to create, to bring appeal to the character. He’s a very talented young lad and very imaginative. I mean, it’s not for me to say what he should do with the character at this stage. I took care of the 20th century; now he’s got to take care of the 21st,” Williams added about Glover.
“Pay me a lot of money, and I’ll sell my soul,” Williams replied when asked if he would ever make a return to the Star Wars universe.
After Lando returned in 2018’s Solo, plans were announced for a new Disney Plus series based around the character.
Last year, however, it was revealed the series is now being developed as a film with Glover and his brother Stephen on board to write the script. The project was held up by the writers’ and actors’ strikes that brought Hollywood to a standstill.
“It’s not even a show … the idea right now is to do a movie. Right now, because of the strike, it’s kind of like telephone, all of the information,” Stephen Glover said about the project during an appearance on the “Pablo Torre Finds Out” podcast.
