This Supporting Star Wars Character is the Worst Spinoff Material Imaginable
Given the growing number of side-stories in the franchise, it bears repeating that not every character needs his or her own spin-off.
When Solo: A Star Wars Story was released in 2018, it received a rather underwhelming reception from critics and audiences.
While the film wasn't terrible by any means, it just felt bland, which almost felt like a crime considering the character the story revolved around.
The result was a box office flop that put an end to plans to explore some of the characters' pasts in spin-off movies. Or so it seemed.
The story followed the early years of Han Solo, portrayed by Alden Ehrenreich, as he began his illegal career shortly after defecting from the Imperial Army.
One of the few things the film actually received praise for was the character of young Lando Calrissian, played by Donald Glover, who managed to capture the charisma of his predecessor, Billy Dee Williams, and according to some fans, even outshone the film's title character.
In a recent interview with GQ, Glover talked about his most iconic characters on screen and mentioned that "there's talk" of Lando getting his own project. However, this may not be as good an idea as it first seems.
While Glover's performance was charismatic and likable, Lando may not be the best character to get his own story.
He is a fun collection of tropes, perfect as a supporting character, but would that be enough for a fully fleshed out story?
There is also no way for Lando to grow, as he is almost identical to his younger self when introduced in Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back, so the show (which is the most likely format for the project at this point) will just repeat itself in each episode.
For example, Andor took a character who only appeared in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and showed us how Cassian became the freedom fighter he was in the movie, which is a radical contrast to how we see him at the beginning of the series.
And what a beautiful and compelling story it turned out to be, with fans eagerly awaiting the second season.
Don't get us wrong, there are still ways for the creators to pull this out, as suggested by the Reddit user paulc899:
"This can work but only if each episode starts with Billy Dee Williams playing poker and saying "let me tell you a story about when I was younger"."
Such an anthology format would be the best, but it might still prove to be rather boring without any character growth.
Maybe it is better to focus on new stories and characters instead of milking the nostalgia of the fans.