After two huge wins for Atlantaat the 74th Golden Globe Awards last night (for Best Television Series — Musical or Comedy and Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series — Musical or Comedy), this amazing shot of the Atlanta cast might be the last time you'll see them in the same place for most of 2017. Why? Because Atlanta creator and star Donald Glover's going to be working on the upcoming Han Solo spin-off movie, playing a young Lando Calrissian. Black nerds (present company included) have been psyched for this since word dropped in October of 2016, and while basking in the glow of Atlanta wins backstage at the Golden Globes, Glover spoke about the importance of getting Lando right.
“Lando’s a big deal. He’s the first toy I ever got," Glover said. For those of us who hadn't seen many (if any) black faces in the epic movies like the Star Wars saga, this is a given—and makes Glover tackling the role properly all the more difficult. He goes on to say, “It’s interesting, when you have something iconic in a range when people pay attention to it, it’s hard. You want to live up to the expectation, but you can only live up to your own.” Ultimately, it sounds like Glover wants to roll up his sleeves and turn up. “I just want to have fun. I know the directors Phil (Lord) and Chris (Miller) and I love the guy (Alden Ehrenreich) who is playing Han. It’s gonna be a fun time."
Glover's comments on Lando being a "big deal" mirror a story he told on Ellen back when news of his casting first hit. "I told my dad immediately. He was like, ‘Aww.’ My mom was in the back; she was like, ‘Don’t mess it up! Don’t mess this up!’ ‘Cause Billy Dee—like, that’s hers."
As of right now, this Han Solo spin-off—which like Rogue One is set to take place in between Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope—doesn't currently have a title, nor a firm release date, although it's going to drop in 2018 and might possibly fall into the December realm that both Rogue One and The Force Awakens fell in previously. Glover's also in the upcoming Sony/Marvel film Spider-Man: Homecoming, which hits theaters on July 7, 2017.
