Donald Glover hopes his Star Wars Lando Calrissian movie will be “more fun” than previous entries in the franchise.
The actor — who took over from Billy Dee Williams as the suave scoundrel in 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story — is due to play the character again in the upcoming film and has teased what he envisions for the project.
“I just want it to be fun. Like, as a Star Wars fan myself, I think it’s important that there just needs to be more fun being had,” Glover said in an interview posted by WSJ. Style on YouTube.
“It’s very hard to have fun right now. It’s tough because there are very serious things happening, and those are the only things that connect us, weirdly. So, I get why things are serious, but, part of the human experience, I believe, is we have a responsibility to have enjoyment,” Glover continued. “And I just feel like we’re lacking in that department.”
Glover explained he felt the sci-fi series could sometimes be “way too serious” and outlined his aim to add some levity to the franchise.
“Star Wars, I love it, but sometimes it be super serious. Sometimes it be, like, way too serious,” he told WSJ. “It’s, like, everything that has to do with the Skywalkers, is like so serious.”
“Lando, I think the best part about him is he’s a scoundrel, you know, and I feel like people can relate to that,” Glover observed. “And he’s probably, like, ‘Man, this war is wack. I need money.’ Which I feel everyone can relate to. So, I want to just bring fun to Star Wars. I just want it to be fun.”
In 2020, the project was announced as a Disney+ limited series — with Haunted Mansion director Justin Simien due to serve as the showrunner — though three years later, it was revealed the studio had scrapped the program entirely and was instead intending to make it a movie.
As a result of the pivot, Simien left the picture, and the “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” actor and his brother Stephen were said to have taken over the project.
