Donald Glover Still Smiling About Lando Calrissian Casting

Donald Glover is living the dream of every ’80s kid: He’s going to play his favorite Star Wars character. The actor, who has been cast as Lando Calrissian (the role originated by Billy Dee Williams) in the 2018 Han Solo prequel film, shared his reaction for the first time on yesterday’s Ellen. Not surprisingly, he was all smiles.

“It’s really crazy. I’m very honored. It’s a very big deal,” said Glover, whose new TV series Atlanta is airing on FX. As evidence of his longtime fandom, he pointed out that he was wearing a Star Wars shirt in his high-school yearbook photo and revealed that Lando was his first-ever Star Wars toy.

“That was the first toy I had — Lando. That was the very first. I remember it like yesterday. My dad gave it to me,” he said.

Naturally, his dad was the first person Glover called when he got the role. “I told my dad immediately, and he’s like, ‘Oh awesome.’ And my mom was in the back, she was like, ‘Don’t mess it up!’ Because Billy Dee is like, that’s hers.”

In addition to being cast in the Han Solo movie, Glover has been cast in the 2017 reboot Spider-Man: Homecoming. Though details of his role haven’t been announced, he will not be playing the title character, as he did in the animated series Ultimate Spider-man (which followed a fan campaign to cast him in the films).