‘Star Wars’ Actor Doesn’t Like That His Character Is Now LGBTQ
Star Wars has fantastical monsters, aerial battles, and mysterious spirituality — but not a whole lot of LGBTQ characters. In recent years, one of the screenwriters behind the saga revealed a character from the original trilogy is pansexual. However, he noted the character’s sexuality is not “explicit.” The actor who originated this role didn’t like the idea of the character being pansexual.
What we learned about a ‘Star Wars’ character nearly 40 years after his introduction
It all starts with The Empire Strikes Back. The film introduced a number of beloved Star Wars characters like Yoda, Boba Fett, and Lando. The Empire Strikes Back was the first of several Star Wars movies co-written by Lawrence Kasdan. He later co-wrote 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story with his son, Jonathan. In an interview with HuffPost, Jonathan identified Lando as pansexual, saying the character’s sexual fluidity went all the way back to Billy Dee Williams’ portrayals of the character in the 1980s.
“There’s a fluidity to Donald and Billy Dee’s [portrayal of Lando’s] sexuality,” Kasdan said. “I mean, I would have loved to have gotten a more explicitly LGBT character into this movie. I think it’s time, certainly, for that, and I love the fluidity ― sort of the spectrum of sexuality that Donald appeals to and that droids are a part of.”
Like Kasdan said, Lando is not explicitly pansexual. He briefly flirted with Princess Leia in The Empire Strikes Back. In addition, he is attracted to a feminine robot named L3 in Solo: A Star Wars Story. Obviously, getting intimate with robots is unusual but, since L3 is female, her relationship with Lando is heterosexual — albeit mechanical. Donald Glover portrayed Lando in Solo: A Star Wars Story and commented on the revelation that Lando is pansexual.
What Donald Glover had to say about Lando Calrissian’s sexuality
“There’s so many things to have sex with,” Glover said. “I didn’t think that was that weird. Yeah, he’s coming on to everybody…. He’s like having like a ’70s swing — yeah. It just didn’t seem that weird to me ’cause I feel like if you’re in space it’s kind of like, the door is open!” Glover further commented on the limitless sexual possibilities of outer space.
“It’s like, [not] only guys or girls,” Glover explained. “No, it’s anything. This thing is literally a blob. Are you a man or a woman? Like, who cares?” On the other hand, Williams took issue with this revelation about Lando.
What Billy Dee Williams said about Lando Calrissian’s sexuality
According to Out, Williams felt Kasdan’s decision to say Lando is pansexual was to blame for the box office disappointment of Solo: A Star Wars Story. In his opinion, this creative decision made the movie too topical for its own good. Out reports the failure had more to do with the negative reception of The Last Jedi rather than Lando’s portrayal. Regardless of why Solo: A Star Wars Story failed, there’s still a galaxy of possibilities to explore with Lando.
