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Lando Calrissian
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Lando Calrissian is a character in the Star Wars universe. He is portrayed by Billy Dee Williams in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. He also appears frequently in the Star Wars "Expanded Universe" of novels, comic books, and video games, including a series of novels in which he is the protagonist.
y Dee Williams considered the role of Calrissian to be the turning point in his career, as he appeared in a racially-mixed box office smash.
o Calrissian first appears in The Empire Strikes Back, in which Darth Vader coerces Lando into giving his old friend Han Solo over to the bounty hunter Boba Fett.
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Encyclopedia
Lando Calrissian is a character in the Star Wars universe. He is portrayed by Billy Dee Williams in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. He also appears frequently in the Star Wars "Expanded Universe" of novels, comic books, and video games, including a series of novels in which he is the protagonist.
Creation and casting
Billy Dee Williams considered the role of Calrissian to be the turning point in his career, as he appeared in a racially-mixed box office smash.
Appearances
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Lando Calrissian first appears in The Empire Strikes Back, in which Darth Vader coerces Lando into giving his old friend Han Solo over to the bounty hunter Boba Fett. In the ensuing evacuation of Cloud City, he helps Chewbacca, Princess Leia Organa, R2-D2 and C-3PO escape. He assists Leia in rescuing a maimed Luke Skywalker from the underside of Cloud City. He then joins the Rebel Alliance.
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
In Return of the Jedi, Calrissian goes undercover to help rescue Solo from Jabba the Hutt. He is named a General for his efforts during the rescue. He then takes the pilot chair in the Millennium Falcon (with entirely new crew onboard) and leads the second attack into the Death Star. The Falcon and Wedge Antilles' X-Wing fighter are the only survivors of the last-ditch successful run that destroys the gigantic battle station. His mission brings on the final downfall of the Galactic Empire.
Expanded Universe
Pre-Empire Strikes Back
Calrissian's life prior to The Empire Strikes Back is chronicled in The Adventures of Lando Calrissian series of novels. Early in his career, Lando is a prodigious gambler and wins the Millennium Falcon in a game of sabacc. He also wins a strange star-shaped droid named Vuffi Raa, who would be his friend and ally on many occasions. After acquiring the Falcon, and under the tutelage of his friend Han Solo, Calrissian begins to develop his skills as a pilot.
In Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu, he is conned by the Sorcerer of Tund, Rokur Gepta, into hunting down the titular object in the Rafa system. When he arrives, he finds it totally covered in sand and plastic pyramids, and inhabited by a dull and slow-witted society, the Toka. Lando eventually finds the mindharp, but the human governor of Rafa IV activates it. Majestically, the pyramids crumble and the Toka are revealed as the Sharu, an ancient civilization that had drained their intelligence away for safety. Once the Sharu are resurrected, they drive out all the humans. Lando is forced to return to Rokur empty-handed.
In Lando Calrissian and the Starcave of ThonBoka, Lando tries to save a space-borne species called the Oswaft. During the mission, strange spherical droids appear and take Vuffi Raa away, for he is actually a scout for this strange culture. Then, he enters the sabacc championships, and loses to Han Solo. Han makes off with the Millennium Falcon.
In Rebel Dawn, Calrissian helps Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Solo's old flame Bria Tharen (then a Commander in the Rebel Alliance) in a raid against the Hutt-controlled slave world of Ylesia. During the raid which promises generous rewards to Han and his compatriots, Tharen's Red Hand Squadron double crosses Lando and the rest of Han's friends. In the ensuing chaos, Han is branded an accomplice and a traitor. Back on Nar Shaddaa (then Solo's home) word soon spreads, and Calrissian punches him out. The two do not see each other again until The Empire Strikes Back, set three years later.
Later, he wins the mining facility of Cloud City from its current ruler, Baron Raynor. He becomes a responsible leader, keeping his operations out of the eyes of the Galactic Empire. These events are chronicled in the comic book story "Lady Luck," written by Rich Handley and Darko Macan, and its sequel, "Lando Calrissian: Idiot's Array," by Rich Handley.
Pre-Return of the Jedi
The Star Wars comic book series released by Marvel Comics featured Calrissian as a prominent character following The Empire Strikes Back. In the comic series, he has a crimelord arch nemesis named Drebble, and Calrissian will frequently make use of his foil's name as a cover identity so that any animosity he generates while using the alias will be brought against the real Drebble, not Calrissian himself. Drebble features in the comic story "Lady Luck," in which he receives a first name, Barpotomous.
Post-Return of the Jedi
Following the events of Return of the Jedi, he builds a mining complex on the Nkllon called Nomad City. The city consists of an old Dreadnaught carried across the landscape on the night side of the lopi
Nomad City is destroyed during Grand Admiral Thrawn's campaign against the New Republic, portrayed in The Thrawn Trilogy. When Emperor Palpatine reappears in Dark Empire and begins his own campaign against the New Republic, Calrissian rejoins the Republic's military at his previous rank. After Palpatine is finally destroyed in Empire's End, Calrissian leaves the military. When Kessel is abandoned following Admiral Daala's attack on the planet in Darksaber, Calrissian takes over the planet, converts its prison into a mining complex, and mines spice from the planet for a number of years.
During The Corellian Trilogy, Calrissian goes on a galaxy-wide hunt for a rich wife. The businessman, reasoning that marriage is partly a financial relationship, meets Tendra Risant, whom he marries. With his inlaws' money and his entrepreneurial abilities, he opens a mining facility on the planet of Dubrillion on the Outer Rim. On the side, he unofficially runs an asteroid training facility for smuggler pilots.
In Vector Prime, Calrissian asks Solo and Chewie to help him with a business transaction on the planet of Sernpidal. During this trip, Chewbacca meets his demise, saving Solo's son Anakin from the moon the Yuuzhan Vong sends crashing onto the planet. Solo, Anakin, and the thousands of people they saved head to Dubrillion, where the first major clash between the biological Vong and the mechanical New Republic occurs. Calrissian's ground defenses, as well as his newly-created shielding technologies, help save Dubrillion from the initial assault. When the Vong retreat, the Skywalker family launch a desperate attack with the Star Destroyer Rejuvenator and its task force. Calrissian serves as gunner for Solo on the Falcon, but the Rejuvenator and most of her complement of ships are destroyed.
In Dark Tide: Onslaught, Calrissian helps the Solos organize an escape route for Skywalker's Jedi Academy. He poses as a citizen of the besieged world Talfaglia in order to deliver 17 Jedi "hostages" to the Yuuzhan Vong; this is actually a strike team, which attempts to destroy the cloning facilities on the worldship orbiting Myrkr. He also creates Yuuzhan Vong Hunter Droids, two of which prove crucial in the assault on Myrkr to destroy the voxyn queen, and dozens more are used in assaults on Vong strongholds throughout the war.
In Star By Star, Calrissian's efforts are crucial in delaying the Vong victory in a battle on Coruscant. Instead of using mines to attack the Vong piecemeal, he lets them into the minefield, then turns them on the approaching enemy. Over one thousand of the Vong are destroyed or damaged. He also rescues the kidnapped Ben Skywalker from the clutches of the treacherous Senator Viqi Shesh.
In Enemy Lines: Rebel Dream, Calrissian leads the ground troops to a quick victory, then volunteers to lead a small task force to destroy Vong ambushes of convoys and find out how they tracked said convoys. These efforts are wholly successful, with large Vong capital ships destroyed with minimal effort, time, fuel, and munitions.
Finally, when the newly located Galactic Senate on Mon Calamari sets out to vote for a new Chief of State, Calrissian and Talon Karrde provide "incentives" such as silence, money, and blackmail to convince a group of corrupt senators to vote for Cal Omas, who supports the Jedi. When Omas is elected, Calrissian , Karrde, and Star Destroyer owner Booster Terrik lead the Smuggler's Alliance, with Han Solo commanding, to victory over a massive Yuuzhan Vong force in the rout at Ebaq 9.
Calrissian eventually retires to private life after proving crucial in the Battle of Yuuzhan'tar and creating a new Holonet to replace the one the Vong destroyed.
In the seventh novel of the Legacy of the Force series, Fury, Calrissian announces to Han Solo and Leia Organa-Solo that he and Tendra are having a child.
Trivia
- Lando Calrissian was the only character in the original Star Wars trilogy to be visibly played by an African-American actor, Billy Dee Williams (though James Earl Jones supplied the voice of Darth Vader, and a Rebel pilot in Return of the Jedi can briefly be seen to be African-American before being shot down by Imperials). For the radio version of Return of the Jedi, he was portrayed by caucasian actor Arye Gross.
- Williams originally auditioned for the role of Han Solo in the first Star Wars film.
- Williams has been quoted as saying that Lando is greatly misunderstood as a character. After the second film was released, kids who recognized Williams when he went to pick up his daughter after school would accuse him of being evil for betraying Han Solo. However, he also noted that all was forgiven with the fans with the release of Jedi in which Lando redeemed himself by risking his life to rescue Han.
- The Star Wars comic book series released by Marvel Comics featured Lando as a prominent character following The Empire Strikes Back. In the comic series, he has a crimelord arch nemesis named Drebble and Lando will frequently make use of a cover identity named "Drebble" so that any animosity he generates while using the alias will be brought against the real Drebble, not Lando himself.
Popular culture
- In the British sitcom Spaced, Tim reacts to Brian's apparent betrayal by exclaiming "You Lando!". As writer/actor Simon Pegg explains on the DVD commentary, "...[Lando Calrissian] is the modern Judas".
- When Billy Dee Williams appeared in an episode of the US sitcom Scrubs, he persistently argued with Chris Turk (Donald Faison) for calling him Lando.
- In the film Chasing Amy, supporting character Hooper X calls Lando an "uncle Tom" during a tirade in which he denounces Star Wars as racist.
- Blink-182 makes a reference in their song "A New Hope" about 'drinking Colt 45's with Lando'.
- In a recent episode of Drawn Together, Captain Hero disguises himself as Hero Calrissien to look cool, during which he has the same outfit and hairstyle as Lando.
- In The Boondocks episode "Or Die Trying," Uncle Ruckus refers to Granddad as Lando Calrissian during a rant at the movie theater's concession stand.
- Billy Dee Williams reprises his role of Lando Calrissian in the Robot Chicken episode "Moesha Poppins." He leads Han Solo, Princess Leia, and Chewbacca to where they will be having dinner with Darth Vader. In "Robot Chicken Star Wars Episode II," Darth Vader tells Lando not to let Princess Leia and Chewbacca leave Cloud City. When Lando says that that's not part of the deal, Darth Vader quotes "I have altered the deal. Pray I don't alter it any further." When Lando keeps saying "This deal's getting worse everytime," Darth Vader reappears which each one having him ride a unicycle everywhere he goes, wear clown shoes, a dress, and calling himself Mary when Darth Vader keeps altering the deals. After the last one, Lando quotes "This deal....is very fair and I'm happy to be apart of it."
- In How I Met Your Mother, Ted chooses Lando Calrissian as his fake name when meeting Victoria at his friend Stuart's wedding.
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