Star Wars: Is Billy Dee Williams In As Lando For ‘Rebels’ or ‘Episode VII’?
Star Wars fans, admit it. You’ve been waiting with bated breath as announcement after announcement has been made and information has been leaked, giving details for Star Wars Episode VII and Star Wars Rebels, hoping there would be some news regarding whether Billy Dee Williams would reprise his role as Lando Calrissian, the one rogue in the Star Wars universe capable of giving Harrison Ford’s Han Solo a stun for his money. And if you’re like most fans, you’ve been a little disappointed as name after name from the original Star Wars Trilogy.
Harrison Ford. Mark Hamill. Peter Mayhew. Anthony Daniels. Even Carrie Fisher, who spent years blaming her involvement in the Star Wars franchise for her lack of a successful subsequent acting career, is going to reprise her role. But what about Lando? Billy Dee Williams had publicly expressed a willingness to reprise the role if there was a part for him. Surely, there must be room in a Star Wars Episode VII script for Billy Dee Williams?
So far, apparently not, but don’t despair, Billy Dee Williams fans. It turns out there is a place for Lando Calrissian a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away after all. It just happens to be a little bit longer ago than the events of Episode VII. Star Wars Underworld claims that they have credible information indicating that Billy Dee Williams will reprise his Star Wars role, not in Episode VII, but in Star Wars Rebels.
In case you’re a casual fan (does Star Wars even have casual fans?), Star Wars Rebels is an upcoming CGI animated series coming to our galaxy later this year to Disney XD. The show is slated to be a weekly series, featuring one hour episodes. While the series will generally ignore most aspects of the Expanded Universe, it is rumored to involve aspects that were introduced to the EU in the Star Wars Role Playing Game made popular in the late ’80s and early ’90s. Most importantly, at least to Billy Dee Williams fans – it will also apparently include Lando Calrissian.
In a related Inquisitr article, Star Wars Episode VII director J.J. Abrams has had fun teasing fans and the media about whether the famed Millennium Falcon spaceship will make an appearance in Episode VII. There hasn’t been nearly as much speculation regarding whether the Falcon will appear in Star Wars Rebels. Since the series focuses on the rebellion in the years between episodes III and IV, it’s not likely the Falcon will play a major role in Star Wars Rebels (since Han Solo wasn’t part of the rebellion at that time), though it’s possible, since The Empire Strikes Back reveals that Billy Dee Williams’ Lando Calrissian owned the ship before losing it to Solo in a bet.
