What we know about Donald Glover’s new Star Wars movie Lando

The Millenium Falcon’s original owner and the only Star Wars character to truly rock a cape has pulled a fast one on us. After initially making us think he was getting a new series, it turns out Lando will actually star in his own movie, written by Donald Glover and his brother Stephen.

First announced back in 2020, Lando Calrissian’s journey towards a solo project has taken its sweet time and seen creators come and go. However, according to a recent report, we could be seeing the all-new adventures of Cloud City’s top gambler sooner rather than later.

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What else do we know about Star Wars’ latest stand-alone movie? Read on to learn all about its release date, plot, cast and more. These are the details you’re looking for…

When will Lando be released?

Despite being unveiled a few years ago, we’re still waiting for a firm ETA as to when Lando might arrive. Let’s say he’s stylishly late. Either way, with the recent news of Glover and his brother taking over writing duties, we’re hopeful that further information about this exciting Star Wars project will start to emerge soon enough.

Is there a trailer for Lando?

We wish we had better news but unfortunately, there’s no trailer or footage available for Star Wars' upcoming Lando film at this time. Perhaps, like Lando, Disney lost it in a bet. Either way, as soon as it materialises, you'll find it here.

What will happen in Lando?

News of a Lando Calrissian spin-off series first emerged in December 2020 when Lucasfilm head honcho Kathleen Kennedy revealed plans for a series during a Disney Investor Day event.

“Lando Calrissian is the galaxy’s smoothest, most notorious scoundrel, and he’ll return in a brand-new event series for Disney+,” said the studio boss, before revealing that the show would be spearheaded by Justin Simien, director of 2014’s Dear White People and 2023’s The Haunted Mansion.

After this, news on the show went quite quiet, with Disney bosses suggesting they were awaiting a gap in Glover’s jam-packed schedule.

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For those of you who have been trapped in a Sarlaac pit over the past few years, Glover was last seen playing the role of a young Calrissian in Ron Howard’s underrated Solo: A Star Wars Story in 2018 opposite Alden Ehrenreich’s Han Solo. Glover inherited the role from the franchise’s original Lando, played by Billy Dee Williams, with Ehrenreich taking Solo’s blaster from Harrison Ford.

In July 2023, an update arrived which explained that Simien had left the project and had been replaced by Glover and his brother Stephen who would write the series. The sibling duo frequently write together and have created a number of projects in the past, including Atlanta and the musical film Guava Island.

While plot details are still locked securely in carbonite, the same report claimed that the Glovers had come up with a brand new concept for Lando that apparently has “Lucasfilm brass excited.”

Before this news had time to sink in, a new report from Variety confirmed that the Glovers' Lando series had evolved into a fully-fledged feature film. “It’s not even a show…the idea right now is to do a movie,” Stephen Glover told the Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast.

In autumn 2024, Glover discussed the project again, saying that above all else, he hopes the project brings some fun back to a galaxy far, far away. “I just want it to be fun,” Glover told The Wall Street Journal. “As a Star Wars fan myself, I think it’s important that there needs to be fun being had.”

He added: “Everything that has to do with the Skywalkers is like so serious. [With] Lando, I think the best part about him is he’s a scoundrel. And I feel like people can relate to that, and he’s probably like ‘man, this war is whack. I need money,’ which I feel everyone can relate to.”

Who could be in the Lando cast?

Much like the details of Lando’s plot, it’s currently unclear who might appear in Disney’s latest Star Wars movie alongside the show’s new writer and star Donald Glover.

If previous Star Wars projects are anything to go by, it’s likely that we can expect some surprise cameos — maybe from core franchise characters, wider-world faces or some other, digitally de-aged fan favourites. Assuming that young Lando’s new adventure will take place in the same timeline as young Han Solo, perhaps we could see Ehrenreich reteam with Chewbacca once more. Only time will tell.

Star Wars: Lando is coming soon.