Billy Dee Williams Will Play Lando Calrissian In Episode IX Of Star Wars, Which Means It's Already A Better Movie Than "The Last Jedi"

THR- Billy Dee Williams is returning to a galaxy far, far away. The actor, who famously played the galactic gambler Lando Calrissian, will reprise the role for Star Wars: Episode IX, the next Star Wars installment from Lucasfilm.

Chatter about Williams joining the production, which begins later this summer, increased in recent days when the actor bowed out of an upcoming sci-fi and pop culture convention citing a conflict with a movie schedule. Sources confirm to The Hollywood Reporter that Williams will indeed be returning to the Star Wars big screen for the first time since 1983’s Return of the Jedi. The character made his suave debut in Empire Strikes Back.

I’ve made it pretty well known that I didn’t like The Last Jedi. To be honest, I kiiiiinda hated it. Depending on who you tell that to, that either makes me a completely rational Star Wars fan that didn’t like a very polarizing movie or some sort of evil monster that be angrily described with a couple of words that end in “ist”.

But just when I thought all hope was lost in the Star Wars trilogy trilogy and had cuncelled Episode IX in my brain before it even started filming, we find out that the coolest motherfucker in a galaxy far far away is coming back into our lives. That’s right, Mr. Steal Yo Girl And Yo Spaceship will be on mop up duty with J.J. Abrams & company for the finale. How many turncoats in movie history are as beloved as Lando Calrissian? Absolutely zero. I will never get over what Cypher did to his friends in The Matrix for some good steak. Fredo Corleone’s dumb ass can kick rocks for betraying his family, no matter how low his IQ was. And if the mom from Blow was on fire, I wouldn’t piss on her to put it out. Yet somehow Lando is a Top 5 Star Wars character for me despite turning on his buddy and allowing him to be turned into a metal popsicle. You know why? Because Billy Dee Williams just has the It factor with It meaning he is cool and smooth as fuck.

Sure there is a better than good chance they are just bringing Lando back into our lives just so they can murder his ass and put a dagger in whatever childhoods are still alive after the prequels and TLJ. But whatever. Simply putting someone that can pull off a cape this well on the silver screen for a few minutes would make any death and/or reanimation while flying through space like Mary Poppins completely worth it.

And while I know I asked for them to appear in Solo (and sadly didn’t get them because we needed some “Lando loves fucking droids” scenes), I am kindly requesting that Lando’s two buddies to make a cameo in Episode IX as well.

NOW HIT HIS MOTHERFUCKING MUSIC!!!