Donald Glover Says ‘Star Wars’ Is ‘Way Too Serious’ Sometimes and Hopes a Lando Movie Brings Fun Back: ‘We Have a Responsibility to Have Enjoyment’
Donald Glover is set to return as “Star Wars” fan-favorite Lando Calrissian in a movie he’s developing for Disney and Lucasfilm alongside his brother and frequent collaborator Stephen Glover, and all Donald Glover wants to do is to bring the fun back to the “Star Wars” franchise.
“I just want it to be fun,” he recently told The Wall Street Journal during a video interview. “As a ‘Star Wars’ fan myself, I think it’s important that there needs to be fun being had.”
More from Variety
How 'Star Wars' and 'The Lion King' Made James Earl Jones the Voice of Generations
James Earl Jones, Distinguished Actor and Voice of Darth Vader, Dies at 93
“It’s very hard to have fun right now,” Donald Glover continued. “It’s tough because there are very serious things happening and those are the only things that connect us, weirdly. So I get why things are serious, but part of the human experience, I believe, is we have a responsibility to have enjoyment. And I just feel like we’re lacking in that department.”
Donald Glover said that while he obviously loves the “Star Wars” franchise it “can be super serious. Sometimes it’s way too serious. Everything that has to do with the Skywalkers is like so serious. [With] Lando, I think the best part about him is he’s a scoundrel. And I feel like people can relate to that, and he’s probably like ‘man, this war is whack. I need money,’ which I feel everyone can relate to. I want to bring fun to ‘Star Wars.’ I just want it to be fun.”
The “Atlanta” Emmy winner debuted as a young Lando in the 2018 “Star Wars” tentpole “Solo,” which was a notable box office disappointment for Disney and Lucasfilm. News broke in July 2023 that the Glover brothers had been tapped to replace Justin Simien as the writers of a new “Lando” television series for Disney+, but Variety confirmed last September that the project was actually now a “Lando” movie.
Donald Glover revealed in a 2023 video interview with GQ magazine that he was talking to Lucasfilm about another Lando-centric project in the “Star Wars” universe. He said, “We’re talking about it. That’s as much as I can say without [Lucasfilm president] Kathleen Kennedy hunting me down.”
“Lando is charm incarnate,” Donald Glover added at the time. “He’s kind of a maverick, which I don’t think there’s a lot of anymore. It’s hard to be the smooth talker nowadays. Where’s the line? That’s also where the danger is. How close can you get without tripping over it? I would love to play Lando again. It’s a fun time, being him. It just has to be the right way to do it. Time is precious.”
Watch Donald Glover’s full recent interview with The Wall Street Journal in the video below.
Best of Variety
Sign up for Variety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
