FanFare

A Lando Series is Probably a Bad Idea

If everything we’ve heard about Lando is true, do we need to see it?

Growing up alongside the Original Trilogy, the Clone Wars was a deliciously ambiguous concept that sent my mind racing. Who exactly was being cloned? How were the Jedi involved? Could you clone Jedi?

The explanation, as it turned out, was nowhere near as fantastical as my imagination. And though the clones perfectly addressed the hows & whys of the fall of the Jedi, I couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed with what the Clone Wars actually were. In truth, no explanation could’ve satisfied 20 years of dreaming.

Few things live up to their hype.

This problem isn’t unique to Star Wars, but my favorite space opera only makes matters worse when it continually insists on going back (e.g. the dreaded origin story). Solo was a fine action movie, but it was completely unnecessary. Did we really need to see how Han met Chewie, or got the Falcon, or the ridiculous way he earned his last name? It was all sorta known to us already, wasn’t it? We knew who Han was; any attempts to go back, to reframe what we knew in favor of new information, only lessened the character.

With thousands of years to explore, must every Star Wars story fall into the same ~60 year window?

One of the best parts of Solo was definitely Donald Glover’s Lando, so polished and with just the right amount of smarm. I love the idea of following this Lando as he swindles his way across the galaxy. And I’m sure we’ll get that. But I’m afraid we’ll also see how he gets the Falcon, or meets up with Lobot, or ends up on Bespin. Fan service is fine when it’s fleeting and kept to a minimum; the problem comes when fan service is an end unto itself.

New Star Wars, by which I mostly mean Disney Star Wars, but also includes the Prequels, is primarily concerned with delving into the Original Trilogy’s backstory and using something found there as an impetus for a story. Rogue One concerns Death Star plans that becomes a MacGuffin in A New Hope. Solo waters down Han’s mystique without adding much to his character. The Prequels’ raison d’etre is to show how Anakin becomes Vader. The Sequel Trilogy is almost entirely preoccupied with the original films, to the detriment of the new cast.

Can we honestly say Star Wars – as a franchise or a storytelling universe – is better for these movies? I’m not saying I don’t enjoy or even love some of these films, but do they truly add much to the foundation established by the original films?

With thousands of years to explore, must every Star Wars story fall into the same ~60 year window? Star Wars is full of weird crap, where giant slugs run intergalactic crime syndicates and murderbots roam freely. The Mandolarian leaned into some of this thankfully, finally, but even Mando sticks to the same well-worn and tired timeline. After 40+ years of Star Wars, it’s well past time for something new. Lando doesn’t strike me as anything all that new.

There are undoubtedly some juicy story possibilities, even if Lando invariably veers into origin story territory. And no doubt, I will be there for it – I’m paying for Disney+, it’s Star Wars, and Glover’s Lando is simply mesmerizing. I just hope Lando explores new territory, like The Mandalorian, and isn’t unnecessary fan service like Solo.

But what I’m really holding out for is something that gets my imagination racing like the words ‘Clone Wars’ once did.

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