Star Wars Episode VII Rumor: Lando Calrissian to Appear

We already know that Billy Dee Williams, who played Lando Calrissian in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, is willing to appear in Star Wars Episode VII and beyond if he's approached by Disney and Lucasfilm to do so. Well, now it seems he may be expecting that call after all. Apparently, Moviehole has learned that the character will be in the film after they asked a source from Lucasfilm for any plot details for the upcoming sequels, set to begin hitting theaters in 2015. The response? "No idea. just Luke, Leia, Han, Lando." The involvement of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia had already been established by virtually every rumor that's hit the Internet since the movie began, as well as, frankly, common sense as Disney must know that those familiar names are -- at least until the cinematic universe of the films is expanded a bit -- incredibly valuable as characters. Doing a Star Wars movie without them would have been like Warner Brothers making their upcoming Justice League movie an adaptation of the Giffen/DeMatteis years or, worse, Justice League Detroit. Lando seemed a little less of a sure thing, though, since of the main "good guy" characters, he was the only one A) didn't star in the first Star Wars and B) doesn't have an immediately obvious role to play if the next movie revolves around the Skywalker family. His inclusion, assuming that the rumor is true, likely speaks to a desire on the part of the filmmakers to connect to the original trilogy in a big, obvious way that makes these sequels an indispensable part of the canon. Not a bad strategy, if your future plans include a Star Wars film every two or three years; eventually there will be those who will argue anything post-Skywalker doesn't "count."