Star Wars' Billy Dee Williams Faced Real-Life Blowback Over Lando Betraying Han Solo
For the bulk of Irvin Kershner's 1980 sci-fantasy flick "The Empire Strikes Back," the evil Empire devotes an unreasonable amount of resources to chasing down the scrappy starship known a the Millennium Falcon, a ship full of outlaws and rebels. One of the Empire's most formidable foes, the masked Darth Vader (portayed by David Prowse but voiced by James Earl Jones), thinks that Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) is on board the Falcon, and needs to apprehend him for some as-yet unrevealed reason. Luke is away on a religious sabbatical, however, and it will be up to the Falcon's crafty pilot Han Solo (Harrison Ford) to evade capture.
Eventually, Han Solo will be forced to flee into the protection of an old associate named Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams), the Administrator of Cloud City, a city suspended in the clouds above the planet Bespin. Han and Lando have a past. It is revealed that the Millennium Falcon used to belong to Lando, but he lost ownership of the ship to Han in a card game. Unbeknownst to Han, Lando has already been contacted by the Empire, who have been waiting for their arrival at a nice dinner table spread. His back against the wall, Lando agrees to turn his old friend over to the Empire in exchange for safety. Curses! We thought we were safe! As many filmgoers know, Han Solo exited "The Empire Strikes Back" frozen in a block of carbonite.
Lando's act of betrayal rubbed many fans the wrong way, clearly preferring that Lando stand up for his friend and keep the crew of the Millennium Falcon hidden from the likes of the Empire. In the 2018 magazine compilation "Star Wars Insider: Icons of the Galaxy," Williams recalled the real-life blowback he experienced — from children and flight attendants alike — over Lando's beytrayal.
Between the Empire and the Jedi
Eventually, Lando would be forgiven on camera and even joined the central "Star Wars" characters as a central member of the team. In 1983's "Return of the Jedi," Lando would aid the Rebellion's effort to free Han Solo from the dangerous gangster Jabba the Hutt and eventually pilot the Millennium Falcon as a General in an attack on the second Death Star. But in the three years in between "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi," Williams was forced to endure scowls from many of the people he encountered. Williams found himself having to recite Lando's character motivation in public to de-escalate the situation. He said:
"When ['Empire'] came out, I would pick up my daughter from school, and these kids would run up to me and say, 'You betrayed Han Solo!' I would then find myself getting into the middle of trying to explain the whole situation. Even airline stewardesses would tell me I betrayed Han Solo. I would say, 'You don't understand — it was a very peculiar situation. I had to deal with Darth Vader, and also I had Cloud City — this is my domain and I didn't want to lose it because these people showed up with Darth Vader on their tail. So I had to figure out how to save them.' Listen to me, I'm doing it now!"
Williams went on to point out that Lando and Han Solo both spent their lives as hustlers and smugglers, having grown thick skins and learned to look out for number one. At the beginning of the original 1977 "Star Wars" film, Han Solo is only out to benefit himself with a paycheck. He does, however, learn to do something noble by the end, joining the Rebel Alliance in their fight against the Empire. Lando, meanwhile, didn't go through a similar arc.
Lando had his reasons
Thanks to the public persecution he experienced over Lando's decisions, Williams has become quite eloquent on his character. The actor even saw the parallel arcs between Han and Lando, as well as their divergences. He saw Lando as a charmer who could coolly manipulate situations to be in his control, while Han, the more temperamental of the two, often resorted to violence. Joining the Rebels, then, allowed Han to be violent toward a better cause. A charmer trying to survive a fascist regime could only dazzle people so much. William said:
"Lando and Han Solo are pretty much the same kinds of people: they're hustlers, and they gamble and figure out ways to do things without too much violence — although I think probably Han Solo is a little bit more on the violent side than Lando because Lando gets his stuff through charm. But, I had to do it in such a way that there wouldn't be a complete demise of Han Solo or the rest, but I knew there would have to be some sort of delay."
Also, Williams was a little incensed that audiences hated Lando's betrayal because Lando did eventually experience comeuppance. Lando, who will soon get his own movie with Donald Glover in the role, even confronted Darth Vader, and was not rewarded for his bravery. The actor said:
"I lost everything! I lost everything because of that whole situation! I even stood up to Darth Vader, which most people don't do. Look at what he did to the guy at the opening of the movie on the ship there!"
Ultimately, however, Williams took most of the persecution in good humor, and even staged his defenses with an air of light playfulness. Although he learned it's wise to have answers for an angry fourth grader's accusations.