Filming on Star Wars: Episode IX is expected to commence any day now, and don’t we know all about it.
Not only is the rumor mill operating at full tilt, but we’ve also caught wind that Lucasfilm plans to announce the full ensemble cast for J.J. Abrams’ untitled sequel before shooting kicks off in July. That’s exciting in and of itself, particularly after previous reports claimed that Abrams and his team had been casting the net in search of a new female lead to share the screen with Daisy Ridley’s Rey.
Whether that turns out to be the case is another question entirely, but over on Fantha Tracks (h/t ComicBook.com), two unnamed sources are claiming that Star Wars: Episode IX will herald the return of a fan-favorite character from the Original Trilogy.
Still with us? The report claims that none other than Billy Dee Williams will be back to reprise his role as the smooth-talking Lando Calrissian at some point during Star Wars: Episode IX, which certainly makes sense after Donald Glover’s memorable turn as the loveable rogue in Solo.
Per Fantha Tracks:
We were asked by our original source to verify this with another independent source before we ran with it. We did that, confirming that this is indeed correct (and before anyone asks, we’re not going to name our sources because that’s not how this works). Filming on Episode IX starts next month, so expect to see official confirmation of this exciting casting very soon.
It’s worth mentioning that Calrissian was also rumored for a small cameo in Star Wars: The Last Jedi – likely during the casino scene on Canto Bight – though, sadly, it never came to pass. Third time’s a charm, maybe?
“Hello – what have we here?” Star Wars: Episode IX zooms into theaters on December 20th, 2019 – with or without starship captain Lando Calrissian in its cast.
