Brothers Donald Glover and Stephen Glover are teaming up to pen Disney+’s Lando series, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
The deal, first reported by Above the Line, was made prior to the Writers Strike, which began in May. Justin Simien, who was previously attached to develop Lando, exited the Star Wars project prior to the duo signing on.
Disney announced in December 2020 that the Lucasfilm show was in the works. Donald Glover, who will star in the serious, previously played Lando Calrissian in 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story. While the film bombed at the box office, Glover’s performance was well received.
The smooth talking smuggler first appeared in The Empire Strikes Back, with original Lando actor Billy Dee Williams returning for Return of the Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker.
During a recent interview with THR, Simien spoke about the Lando project, and said he was uncertain about its future.
“The last thing I was told was that they loved it but needed to put a pin in it until they could figure out everybody’s availability,” Simien said. “I haven’t investigated further, but I’m not an idiot. I’m not alone in that experience. But I can’t help but wonder, ‘Am I too Black? Am I too queer? And people just don’t want to say that?’ Because it seems like I develop things with these companies and they just never happen for reasons unknown.”
As for Donald Glover, who along with his brother has an overall deal with Amazon, he has indicated that he was still interested in the project.
Said the actor in an April interview with GQ: “I’m not interested in doing anything that is going to be a waste of my time or just a paycheck. I would much rather spend time with people I enjoy. It just has to be the right thing, which I think it could be. Lando is definitely somebody I’d like to hang out with. We’re talking about it. That as much as I can say.”
—Borys Kit and Aaron Couch contributed to this story.
Source: Hollywood
