While there is still very much we don’t know aboutStar Wars: The Force Awakens, it’s becoming quite clear that the story primarily focuses on the new crop of younger characters, such asJohn Boyega’s Finn andDaisy Ridley’s Rey. Of course, plenty of classicStar Warsactors are back, such asMark Hamill(Luke Skywalker),Harrison Ford(Han Solo) andCarrie Fisher, but one fan favorite character from the original trilogy,Billy Dee Williams' Lando Calrissian, was not revealed as part of the initial cast list. While some fans may be holding out hope for a secret Lando Calrissian cameo, screenwriterLawrence Kasdanconfirmed that Lando is not inStar Wars: The Force Awakens, but he may be popping up in one of the other upcoming movies.
“Right now, there’s no Lando Calrissian in this movie. But Lando I don’t think is finished in any way, shape, or form.”
Of course, it’s possible that Lando could surface in the sequelsStar Wars: Episode VIII,Star Wars: Episode IXor the spinoffStar Wars Anthology: Rogue One.Billy Dee Williamshimself teased earlier this year that Lando will likely come back for one of the future movies. Fans also got to see his character in animated form in the first season of Disney XD’sStar Wars Rebels.Lawrence Kasdanalso talked about howStar Wars: The Force Awakensis turning out great, under the direction ofJ.J. Abrams, teasing that it won’t be a “bloated blockbuster” like a lot of today’s modern tentpoles. Instead, it will have an economic runtime:
“This new movie, first of all, it’s turning out really great.J.J. Abramsdirected it so beautifully, and it’s so exhilarating and everything. It’s a big movie. It’s full of wonderful stuff, incident and character stuff and jokes and effects. One of the things that we always refocus on from the get-go was that it not be one of these very long, bloated blockbusters. A lot of very entertaining movies lately are too long. In the last 20 minutes, you think, why isn’t this over? We didn’t want to make a movie like that. I mean, we were really aiming to have it be-when it’s over you’ll say, ‘I wish there’s more.’ Or, ‘Wait, is it over?’ Because how rarely you get that feeling nowadays, and I think we’re headed there. But it means that there will be constant critical looking at it from now to the end, saying, ‘Do we need this? Do we need that? Is it better if this comes out, even though we love it?’ Killing your darlings.”
While it will likely be quite some time before we get a confirmed runtime forStar Wars: The Force Awakens, it seems this will be a much more succinct theatrical experience than many recent summer adventures, such asAvengers: Age of Ultron, which runs nearly two and a half hours long. Are you gladStar Wars: The Force Awakenswon’t be as long? Are you looking forward to Lando Calrissian’s eventual return? Chime in with your thoughts below, and stay tuned for more updates on the Star Wars theatrical universe.
