Was Billy Dee Williams Really Asked to Play Lando in STAR WARS VII?
With Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher coming back for Star Wars: Episode VII there's room to bring back some other characters like Billy Dee Williams' Lando Calrissian. Film Buff Online has an interesting report from a friend who says he talked to Williams briefly at the Monster Mania convention in New Jersey this past weekend. He apparently asked the actor if he would be in the new Star Wars film, and this is what he said,
Billy Dee said, he has been asked, but hasn’t decided if he is going to do it or not yet.
What's interesting about this is Williams showed up at Emerald City Comic-Con in Seattle a few days prior. He was asked a similar question, and this was his answer,
No one can play Lando but me.
He went on to say at the time that he hadn't been approached by Disney or Lucasfilm, but he'd be happy to return. It was then reported that one of his reps told the fans in attendance to tweet, send letters and e-mails to Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, and everyone else with the power to cast him in the movie.
So if he wanted to reprise his role so bad during Emerald City Comic-Con, why is it that a few days later at Monster mania he's not sure if he wants to do it or not? Either Williams still hasn't been asked to be in the film, or the guy that made this report is full of crap. You decide.
In the end it would be fun to see Lando included in the story.