Why does Lando Calrissian betray Han Solo in ‘Star Wars’?
Donald Glover’s portrayal of Lando Calrissian in the 2018 Star Wars spin-off movie Solo: A Star Wars Story has received plenty of love from audiences and critics alike. In fact, some have gone as far as to say Lando saves an otherwise underwhelming film. This is a far cry from reactions towards the character in the past. After the release of the second Star Wars movie, The Empire Strikes Back, audiences despised Calrissian as a traitor to Han Solo.
In a gut-wrenching scene, he leads Solo, Princess Leia and Chewbacca to a room on Cloud City, a floating metropolis under his jurisdiction, where Darth Vader is waiting for them. “I’ve just made a deal,” he explains, “that’ll keep the Empire out of here forever.”
As he pushes the button to open the room’s sliding doors, he looks at his friends as the villainous Vader is revealed to them. The others look shocked before Darth Vader repels Solo’s attempts to shoot him. “I had no choice,” Calrissian reasons. “They arrived right before you did. I’m sorry.” Leia seems furious with rage, and Han Solo replies despondently, “I’m sorry, too.” Chewbacca lets out a cry of anguish at the treachery afoot.
But why exactly did Lando Calrissian give up Han Solo, Princess Leia and Chewbacca to the evil forces of the Galactic Empire? Billy Dee Williams, the actor who plays Calrissian in The Empire Strikes Back, believes he had no choice. “He was dealing, as best he could, with a situation that was presented to him by the Empire upon their arrival.”
Once Vader and his Imperial forces arrive at Cloud City, Calrissian is forced to make the “deal” he tells the others about. Vader threatened to occupy the City, which Calrissian is governor of, if he didn’t make an agreement with him. Apparently, Vader changed the original terms of the agreement to include giving up Han Solo to the bounty hunter Boba Fett and keeping Leia and Chewbacca imprisoned in Cloud City. Calrissian did try to fight these impositions, telling Vader, “That was never a condition of our agreement. Nor was giving Han to this bounty hunter.”
“Perhaps you think you’re being treated unfairly?” Vader replied with menace, while a musical cue in the background signalled Calrissian was under physical threat. And so he gave up: “No”. “Good,” Vader said. “It’d be unfortunate if I had to leave a garrison here.” Again, he was threatening both Lando’s personal safety and that the Empire would continue to occupy Cloud City if Lando didn’t comply with his demands.
It could be argued that Lando Calrissian didn’t challenge Vader enough in this scene. However, actor Williams insists he has no other option but to “back down and figure out another way to save his friends.” The film’s conclusion seems to support this view, as Lando manages to rescue Leia and Chewbacca before setting off on another journey to find Han Solo in its final scene.
In an Unsung Hollywood interview back in 2015, Williams detailed the hostility he received for his character’s perceived treachery. “You’ve got a ten-year-old yelling at you: ‘You betrayed Han Solo,’” he described. “That’s pretty scary.” He went on to claim that he wouldn’t have received such a backlash if he were “a Caucasian actor,” suggesting that there’s a racial aspect to the perception that Lando committed any betrayal at all. Williams was the first Black actor—and Lando the first Black character—to appear in the Star Wars franchise.
And Williams is keen to remind fans of Glover’s portrayal of Lando who came first. “There’s only one Lando Calrissian,” he recently told the Radio Times, “I created that character.”
