Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy has been dropping all kinds of news this week. Along with sharing the plans about the next few “Star Wars” projects while at Celebration, Kennedy also hinted that many ideas are still on the table. In an exclusive interview with TotalFilm, she revealed that we might now have seen the last of Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian.
Earlier this year, Kennedy revealed one lesson they learned from the underperformance of films like “Solo: A Star Wars Story” was that ‘audiences didn’t like characters recast.’ The outlet asked Kennedy if the franchise was done revisiting older characters if they couldn’t get the original actors back.
“I never say never,” Kennedy told TotalFilm. “It’s certainly not something that we’re doing with any intention right now. We’re still talking about Lando with Donald Glover, for instance.”
Kennedy goes on to say that even another “Solo” story is possible. Given that “Solo” wasn’t a box office success, it seems pretty gutsy to say they would return to that part of the franchise. From filming to release, the process was a compromised mess and it delivered a film that, at best, is just ok. One of the few bright spots was Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian, doesn’t sound that weird. But the possible return of Aldren Ehrenreich to Star Wars is a major revelation.
However, what the current “Obi-Wan Kenobi” show is proving is that nothing stays hated forever. It wasn’t that long ago that the prequel trilogy, while successful, was a much maligned addition to the Star Wars saga. Especially for the performances from Hayden Christensen and Jake Lloyd. Fast forward to 2022, and you now have rapturous applause for Christensen’s return to Star Wars.
People seem to love a redemption story and are completely willing to give stories and actors a second chance. Remember how a few years ago, everyone hated Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man? Ancient history. If anyone sees the potential of turning failure into success, it is Disney. I will not be surprised to see Alden Ehrenreich getting the credit he deserved.
