SPECULATION Could Lando solve the Leia problem?

I feel that Lando/BDW deserves more than a cameo. If you are going to put him in the movie, then you have to give him something to do. Not just standing in the background, but something that would drive the movie plot forward.

 

Great discussion, everyone. Thread of the week!

 

I think Lando could be a great addition, depending on how he's written into the story beyond a cameo level performance.

I'm not entirely sure even his classic character could make up for Leia's absence, though.

Given Disney's current position regarding CGI and the other difficulty / potential controversy of recasting Leia, I was thinking of various ways Leia could still have some literal on-screen impact in Episode IX (versus being written off off-screen or being passively mentioned).

So, perhaps one potentially interesting way they could incorporate Leia in Episode IX, without resorting to CGI or to another actress we'd immediately recognize as not her, is to reintroduce Boushh (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Boushh).

Here's one possible way that might work:

At some point it is found that the First Order is, like the Empire before, once again tapping bounty hunters to aid in rounding up key Resistance leaders.

Leia / the Resistance learns of this, and we later see Leia (from behind) opening an old locker which reveals her Boushh outfit from Return of the Jedi.

Later we see her infiltrate the First Order under this guise, and she demands to see Hux or Snoke, claiming to have information she will only give to them. Either Hux and/or Snoke, feeling perhaps unbeatable or unintimidated by the bounty hunter, for whatever reason, entertain her.

I could even imagine Hux losing his patience, and Leia/Boushh having a chance to repeat her ROTJ line: "Just relax for a moment."

Maybe she even gets to pay homage to Han -- e.g. Hux saying, "Even if what you say is true, I seriously doubt your chances of success!" -- and then she replies, "Never tell me the odds."

At that point, suffice it to say Leia/Boushh picks up where she once left off with Jabba in ROTJ, but this time she she does not refrain.

As a result, Hux and/or Snoke are weakened in the aftermath, and, as a result, Leia/Boushh perhaps disrupts a plan/action of theirs and/or helps to create a window of opportunity for Kylo/Ben and/or Rey and/or Luke to escape or to take an important action.

In other words, in this situation she contributes substantially in one last dramatic and powerful manner to the outcome of this particular episode.

This could even help in Ben's turning, as Luke or Rey reveals Leia sacrificed herself to help free Ben.
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Now this is just one of a million+ possible ways Leia could be used to maximum on-screen effect in Episode IX with minimal or no visual distractions any CGI or another actress might present.

Nothing, indeed no one can ever hope to replace Leia -- Carrie.

At the same time, I do hope it is somehow possible, without resorting to too much artifice, that her character can still be done some measure of on-screen justice and perhaps be given a grand and meaningful exit from the saga.

 

I totally agree with this. BDW would be great but it wouldn't make up for losing Leia.

Although this is quite inventive, I can't get on board for this idea. There are lots of movies and TV shows that have tried techniques like this to make up for an actor who was unavailable (remember the series finale of Two and a Half Men?), and frankly it is just too cheesy for Star Wars.

 

You mean to say that Disney still refuses to consider Billy Dee Williams for one of its Sequel Trilogy movies?

 

I'd love to have Lando in the film but I can't see him having a big role in the Kylo Ren conflict. He'd never be able to make the impact that Leia and Han would because their connection would feel forced.

 

It has been my understanding based on reading the tea leaves that Lando would return for Episode 9.

--- Double Post Merged, Feb 16, 2017, Original Post Date: Feb 16, 2017 ---

I'm sure without a doubt there will be reshoots - if they haven't happened yet. That's modern filmmaking nowadays. It has nothing to do with creativity, quality or honesty.

 

We shall see... there is no need to go back and forth like children, we're all adults here, only time will tell. Its funny how when the truth is revealed about outlandish theories they scurry and bury their heads in the sand and then comes the silence...

 

If you remember, after initial cuts of TFA, Iger was thrilled as were others, as it was reported a ton. It was also reported that Rogue One was in trouble because of reshoots, which turned out to be false. Additionally, TFA's reshoots occurred because Abrams got a chance to see Rey and Finn's relationship wasn't working while Harrison Ford recovered. If fans get anything resembling TFA they should thank their lucky stars because in it you got a quality Star Wars film.

 

While this is a great idea, I saw BDW in an interview with Arsenio Hal right before TFA came out. He has aged to the point where he was very slow with his speech and it would be kind of sad to see him on screen at this point. Ford has aged well as he never lost a step in TFA, but I want to remember Lando from the OT and that's it.

It's still a great idea, and if Lucas would have done the damn ST in the late 90's instead of the PT, then we would have had a great trilogy with Ford, Fisher, Hamill, and Billy Dee Willams still young enough to play major roles and pass the torch to the new generation for a trilogy after that.

 

ithink hes in his 80s. no offense to him or anything but he looks like hes in his 90s and has aged over 50 years compared to ROTJ. If they could find a way to explain it then that would be fine but star wars is consdiered jsut as vidual as it is with story telling
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I'm not sure I need to see Lando in the new films. We're moving on from the old characters onto the new ones so, apart from Luke who undoubtedly has a greater involvement in the next instalment (well, let's face it, he couldn't have a lesser involvement than he did in TFA), I think the story should focus even more on the new characters. Besides, Lando was only ever a minor character in the first place, brought in to add some depth to Han Solo more than anything else. As Han's now gone, I don't see any point in bringing in his old pal.

 

I mean, Lando pretty much just looked like BDW in the original trilogy. If BDW could change that much, it just stands to reason that Lando could, too.

Could you explain the theme you described, though? Little confused on that.

 

As much as I would love to have Lando make a cameo or have a role in the ST, I don't think the man is up to it. I met him at a con last year and he wasn't in any condition to film anything at that point. He didn't seem quick or with it like we remember him. BDW is turning 80 this year, just leave the poor man alone.