In a recent interview with the Huffington Post, it was revealed by Jonathan Kasdan, screenwriter for Solo: A Star Wars Story, that Lando Calrissian is pansexual.
Jonathan and his father Lawrence Kasdan, with whom he co-wrote the script, spoke of making fans question the norms of attraction and were conscious of representation when shaping the movie.
When asked point blank “Is he pansexual?”, Kasdan had this to say: “I would say yes. There’s a fluidity to Donald and Billy Dee’s [portrayal of Lando’s] sexuality,” Kasdan added, “I mean, I would have loved to have gotten a more explicitly LGBT character into this movie. I think it’s time, certainly, for that, and I love the fluidity ― sort of the spectrum of sexuality that Donald appeals to and that droids are a part of.”
“He doesn’t make any hard and fast rules. I think it’s fun,” Kasdan said. “I don’t know where it will go.”
After watching the sultan of smooth Billy Dee charm the pants off of everyone he encountered in Star Wars, I can’t say I’m that surprised. The first time I saw Oberyn Martell from HBO’s Game of Thrones on screen I was immediately reminded of Lando. The character oozes a suave sense of charm and sexuality that simply says “my sexual preference is yes”.
We’ve yet to see a LGBT character on the big screen in the Star Wars franchise. While it was confirmed that Vice Adm. Amilyn Holdo from The Last Jedi is queer in the tie-in novel Leia: Princess of Alderaan, there are no hard references to Holdo’s sexual orientation in the film.
After The Force Awakens was released there was a lot of speculation that Poe and Finn would end up getting together before the trilogy was over, but Rose’s kiss quickly dispelled that theory. With the Obi-Wan standalone film getting a director and no end in sight for the Star Wars films and TV shows that Disney is churning out, let’s hope we see a LGBTQ character sooner rather than later.
Solo: A Star Wars Story hits theaters in the United States May 25th.
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