Solo movie: Is Lando Calrissian Star Wars’ first pansexual character?
Donald Glover is Lando Calrissian in SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY. (Lucasfilm)
Lando Calrissian, one of the heroes in Solo: A Star Wars Story, is pansexual, according to one of the movie’s writers.
Calrissian, played Donald Glover, is one of Han Solo’s associates in the upcoming Star Wars tale and was first introduced played by Billy Dee in The Empire Strikes Back.
Talking to the Huffington Post, the movie’s father-son writing duo Lawrence and Jonathan Kasdan confirmed that the character was pansexual.
Actors Alden Ehrenreich, Donald Glover and Chewbacca attend the screening of “Solo: A Star Wars Story” during the 71st annual Cannes Film Festival on May 15, 2018. (Nicholas Hunt/Getty)
“There’s a fluidity to Donald and Billy Dee’s [portrayal of Lando’s] sexuality,” said Jonathan Kasdan.
“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,” he added, referring to a scene seen in the movie’s trailer where Lando calls his droid L3 “baby.”
“He doesn’t make any hard and fast rules. I think it’s fun,” Kasdan said. “I don’t know where it will go.”
Fans have been hoping for the Star Wars universe to introduce LGBT characters in its new films. When The Force Awakens was released in 2015, many hoped Finn (John Boyega) and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) would be romantically paired together, however, new developments in The Last Jedi put an end to that speculation as Boyega’s character shared a kiss with a female character.
(Disney)
The news of Lando’s pansexuality received mixed reactions from fans online.
While some were pleased by the development, others pointed out the hypocrisy of announcing a character’s sexuality in the media without explicitly showing it on screen. Harry Potter J.K. Rowling experienced similar backlash.
Rowling announced in 2007 that Albus Dumbledore was gay, a character trait that won’t be addressed in the upcoming follow-up to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
“Stop saying these characters are queer/fluid and not show it. This is lazy storytelling and doing the bare minimum,” wrote Twitter user FilmFatale_NYC.
“For me to see one of my childhood heroes identify as pansexual is a dream come true,” wrote @ChrisGentile95. “I love Lando and I applaud Disney/Lucasfilm for representing a often forgotten demographic.”
Star Wars got close to featuring an out LGBT character with The Last Jedi. Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo (played by Laura Dern) is queer in the novel Leia: Princess of Alderaan, but her sexuality is not addressed in the movie.
Disney, which owns Lucasfilm and Marvel Studios, has often been called out by fans on its reticence to introduce LGBT characters in its movies.
Recently, a fan theory that one of Black Panther’s characters is gay was debunked by the release of a deleted scene.
