Billy Dee Williams Was Concerned About Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Return

The end of the Star Wars saga as we know it is just weeks away, as the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will feature the culmination of over 40 years of storytelling. And while it will feature the end of the storyline that has captivated generations of fans, it will also feature a lot of familiar faces that will help end this journey. While characters like Han Solo and Luke Skywalker might have passed on and become one with the Force, fan favorites like Leia Organa and Lando Calrissian remain. But for actor Billy Dee Williams, he wasn’t sure if it was right for him to bring back the smoothest gambler in the galaxy.

Williams spoke with Esquire for a recent profile and revealed his doubts in returning to play Lando in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

“Do I have that same hunger, excitement, that I had years earlier?,” the actor asked himself out loud. “This is a very difficult time for me, as far as age is concerned. When you get to be a certain age, whether you want to think about mortality or not, you think about it.”

Ultimately, Williams decided to return as Lando for the franchise finale, though it happened after a lot of work.

“When I have to go to work, my ego tells me I want to look pretty good. I don’t want to look bad. I don’t want to look like a slob,” he said.

But the actor never lost sight of his version of Lando, and he revealed some key insight he used in his portrayal of the character in his Star Wars return.

“I always imagined Lando being like Steve Wynn, running Las Vegas,” Williams explained. “Because he’s a gambler. But he was a bit of a showman, a bit of an entrepreneur. That’s how I see Lando. I never necessarily saw him as a general running around shooting things.”

When asked if this was the possible end of Lando’s story, Williams offered a humorous response that shows his awareness of the industry and its future.

“It’s a conclusion—certainly it depends on how much money is generated. That’s when they determine where’s the conclusion,” the actor explained. “The one thing about show business, you can resurrect anything.”

Fans can see the return of Lando Calrissian and Billy Dee Williams in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, premiering in theaters on December 20th.