5 Interesting Facts About Lando Calrissian

Let’s pretend you have been invited to the first inaugural fan debate held at Star Wars Celebration. A microphone is passed along, row to row, and everyone is allowed to voice who they think the greatest character is. I would imagine that Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and perhaps Ahsoka Tano would get a fair amount of fan support. However, if the topic of the debate shifted to who the coolest character is, I would predict a large number of people in favor of Landonis Balthazar Calrissian.

Lando Calrissian first appeared in The Empire Strikes Back as the Baron Administrator of Cloud City. It was implied that he and Han Solo had a complicated relationship in the past, and though he betrayed the heroes at first, he would come to help them. It was not until Solo: A Star Wars Story that we finally learn about the character’s backstory. The sequel trilogy and Star Wars: Rebels further tell us more about the coolest scoundrel in the galaxy than ever! Here are five interesting things about Lando Calrissian.

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1. He Helped Luke Skywalker Rebuild The Jedi Order

The events after Return of the Jedi are still being fleshed out mostly through the live-action Disney+ series. Before the Disney acquisition of the Star Wars franchise, we see Lando Calrissian playing a significant role in assisting Luke Skywalker rebuild the Jedi Order. In Kevin J. Anderson’s Legends novel Jedi Search, the first novel in the Jedi Academy trilogy, Lando was sent to a planet called Umgul to investigate a possible Force-sensitive being involved with gambling. However, the lead turned foul after it was determined that the candidate had been cheating their way to success.

2. Bespin Was Not His First Mining Operation

Lando being an entrepreneur is not news to anyone, but it may be interesting to understand how early Lando made the transition from scoundrel/gambler to businessman/entrepreneur. In an episode of Star Wars: Rebels called “Idiot’s Array” after the events of Solo: A Star Wars Story, we would see Lando starting a mining operation on the planet Lothal, the homeworld of the series’ protagonist Ezra Bridger. He was still Lando, the incredible mixture of intelligence and charisma. He won Chopper in a game of sabacc, and then used the Ghost crew to help begin his operation, although he would ultimately return the astromech droid to the crew.

3. He Is A Father

The Rise of Skywalker, left numerous questions in the air, one of which pertained to the nature of his and Jannah’s relationship. While The Rise of Skywalker novelization and visual dictionary revealed that Jannah is not his daughter, he did have one who was kidnapped by The First Order in her infancy. After the events of the final film, Lando appeared to renew his efforts in tracking down his lost daughter.

4. He Lived As A Hermit

After the kidnapping of his daughter, and a failed investigation with Luke Skywalker, Lando became a hermit on Pasaana. This is the version of him we saw in The Rise of Skywalker. Locally, he became known as the “The Hermit” who ruminated on the past. This was a fascinating contrast to the charismatic, eccentric, attention-loving character in Solo: A Star Wars Story. It really illustrated how deeply these events affected him and continued a theme that when Lando loves, he loves with all his being. 

5. He Is A Member Of The LGBTQIA+ Community

Solo: A Star Wars Story treats its audience to a snapshot of Lando’s incredibly eccentric world. We see his schemes, his collection of capes, his diaries, and maybe most interestingly, a peek at his love life. He had a relationship with the droid L3-37 and deeply mourned her after she was shot. It had been noted that Lando’s sexuality is fluid. In an interview with Huffington Post, Solo writer Jon Kasdan stated that he viewed Lando to be pansexual. Lando was featured on the Pride cover of Star Wars #14 illustrating how Disney sees the character as a part of the LGBTQIA+ community. 

Did you learn anything new about one of Star Wars’ most beloved scoundrels? Until next time, and may the Force be with you!

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Written By Ash Aranda

Source(s): Screen Rant, StarWars.com, The DisInsider, Vox, Vulture

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