Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter Mayhew, Mark Hamill.... But why can`t I see Billy Dee Williams on the IMDB Force Awakens cast list?

I want Lando! D:

He was offered a part but turned it down as it was really only a cameo, so I've heard. However, it appears he left things open to appear in a later film.

I read Wedge turned em down for a similar reason.

Billy Dee voiced Lando for Rebels, so whatever has kept him from The Force Awakens, at least it isn't a sourness towards the franchise.

There probably wasn't a good reason to have him in the script.

I mean, better to save him for episode VIII, where he can tell Finn:

Why you slimy double crossing no good stormtrooper.. You got a lot of guy coming here after the Father's Day gift you sent me..

Aye, it's actually surprising he turned it down, but actually it makes sense why he did. He wants the major part really

maybe he is still angry that he had to wear the used cloths from han solo, and when they offered him a role, he asked "what cloths will i wear" "ehm, do u still have the same size like harrison ford?"

or, mean answer number two: they already have a black guy

Personally I'd rather wait a movie (or even two) to see Williams in a role with actual relevance to the plot than to see him shoehorned into The Force Awakens just to say, "look, we have all the leads from the classic trilogy in here!".

Personally I'd rather wait a movie (or even two) to see Williams in a role with actual relevance to the plot than to see him shoehorned into The Force Awakens just to say, "look, we have all the leads from the classic trilogy in here!".

I guess you could say that for all of the characters from the OT.

well... do you realy think he is that important to fans? i mean, yeah, technicaly he blew up the deathstar2... but... i can t imagine that realy that many people would miss him. In the movies, he was more like a second place han, or the sidekick of him. or the -han-has-something-better-to-do-so-send-this-guy-guy

well... do you realy think he is that important to fans? i mean, yeah, technicaly he blew up the deathstar2... but... i can t imagine that realy that many people would miss him. In the movies, he was more like a second place han, or the sidekick of him. or the -han-has-something-better-to-do-so-send-this-guy-guy

I do. He is one of the most popular characters from the movies and the EU. He has so much personality and meaningful interaction with the other characters. He and Han are very different and they are both my favourite characters.

Personally I would choose Lando over Luke any day. Luke is important to the story, hell he is the story, but to me he is kind of boring compared to the others. Who am I kidding, I love Luke too.. But I still wan`t Lando!

But yea, I guess he might appear in the later films. I hope so! And I hope Leia will kick some ass with the Force! Boushh Leia was awesome, but that would just be cheap fan service to include(if not done right)...

well... do you realy think he is that important to fans? i mean, yeah, technicaly he blew up the deathstar2... but... i can t imagine that realy that many people would miss him. In the movies, he was more like a second place han, or the sidekick of him. or the -han-has-something-better-to-do-so-send-this-guy-guy

I think he would be missed since he was arguably the smoothest member of the entire cast, a real rogue with a tongue of sliver. His involvement was actually quite instrumental to the cast escaping cloud city, when they would have otherwise been strong armed into vaders iron fist whether he agreed to it or not. The only reason he sold his old friend out was that the alternative was resisting an all powerful empire, yet even then he did the right thing.

And as said he was the man who blew up the second Death Star. That was arguebly one hundred times more important then Luke's scuffle against his father and the emperor at the time.

well... do you realy think he is that important to fans? i mean, yeah, technicaly he blew up the deathstar2... but... i can t imagine that realy that many people would miss him. In the movies, he was more like a second place han, or the sidekick of him. or the -han-has-something-better-to-do-so-send-this-guy-guy

I think he would be missed since he was arguably the smoothest member of the entire cast, a real rogue with a tongue of sliver. His involvement was actually quite instrumental to the cast escaping cloud city, when they would have otherwise been strong armed into vaders iron fist whether he agreed to it or not. The only reason he sold his old friend out was that the alternative was resisting an all powerful empire, yet even then he did the right thing.

And as said he was the man who blew up the second Death Star. That was arguebly one hundred times more important then Luke's scuffle against his father and the emperor at the time.

Lando was also in charge of a city containing a few million people. Arguably he made the right choice and one that Leia, maybe not so much Han, would probably have understood once she got over her initial anger. That's the kind of person the Rebellion would have wanted in their ranks, a guy who can make the difficult choice when it is needed to be made.

I'm not sure where people are getting the idea that he was asked and turned it down. That was the actor that played Wedge. Billy Dee Williams was never asked to be in the Force Awakens. He is still involved with the franchise through Rebels, recently appeared at Celebration, and is still open to reprising the role on the big screen.

I'm not sure where people are getting the idea that he was asked and turned it down. That was the actor that played Wedge. Billy Dee Williams was never asked to be in the Force Awakens. He is still involved with the franchise through Rebels, recently appeared at Celebration, and is still open to reprising the role on the big screen.

I may have confused Billy with Denis... but the reasoning still stands. Any part written for Lando would probably be very minuscule.

I would be curious to see what becomes of Lando after episode three since IMO he has one of the most diverse, if not the most diverse skillset of the main cast.

He's been a smuggler, gambler, city-state administrator, and general.

Han's been a smuggler, gambler, and general.

Chewie's been a foot soldier and a smuggler.

Luke has been a pilot and Jedi

Leia has been a senator, spy, diplomat, and some rank of commander since she seemed to be in command of Echo base near the end of Hoth. Possibly a fighter pilot as well (Don't remember if that was one of the late EU comic books or the new canon comic books.)

I'd like to see Lando show up again as the saga continues. Maybe a stand alone project about him would be neat.

I read Wedge turned em down for a similar reason.

I heard Wedge turned it down because it wasn't a big enough part and because the pay wasn't high enough.

well... do you realy think he is that important to fans? i mean, yeah, technicaly he blew up the deathstar2... but... i can t imagine that realy that many people would miss him. In the movies, he was more like a second place han, or the sidekick of him. or the -han-has-something-better-to-do-so-send-this-guy-guy

No he's the guy who helped break Han out of Jabba's Palace/hover skiff!

Now if they make him Finn's maternal grandfather (after all I'm hoping Finn's Zare's son after all!) I'll be more than happy!

But you know its hit the fan when Lando makes his appearance!

First Order led by a Vader wannabe, he may have killed Han so who will Luke seek advice from on the seedy underbelly of all things imperial and subterfuge?

Lando does have the advantage that the Empire doesn't have him on their most wanted hit list by end of ROTJ so unless Abrams has it out for him he's their best go to man in episode 8+!

I read Wedge turned em down for a similar reason.

I heard Wedge turned it down because it wasn't a big enough part and because the pay wasn't high enough.

Don't expect as an actor that he makes millions of dollars. Only a very small percentage get paid ostentatiously. Many struggle under the poverty line taking any job they can to pay the bills - like a recurring minor roll in a Space movie like Star Wars. As much as w love the movies, Denis Lawson could want to distance himself from the role, focus on his current career. There is also he might have had a scheduling conflict or a contract and wanted to reprise the role, but if it wasn't worthwhile enough to break said contract or reschedule other work.

The point is, there is many possible factors and saying with derision, it seems, that the role wasn't big enough or paid enough is condescending especially when you don't even use the persons real name.

I think he's still a regular on the New Tricks TV series?

Hard to imagine that pays better and is probably has better prospects in the long run than a cameo in the new movie!

What has Billy Dee been involved in lately other than an episode of Rebels?

IIRC Denis turned down reprising Wedge because it was a simple cameo and didn't really add anything to the character. If they want to expand on Wedge and explore the character, he would be more interested. But we know that isn't going to happen.

I'm not sure where people are getting the idea that he was asked and turned it down. That was the actor that played Wedge. Billy Dee Williams was never asked to be in the Force Awakens. He is still involved with the franchise through Rebels, recently appeared at Celebration, and is still open to reprising the role on the big screen.

I may have confused Billy with Denis... but the reasoning still stands. Any part written for Lando would probably be very minuscule.

I'm not sure where people are getting the idea that he was asked and turned it down. That was the actor that played Wedge. Billy Dee Williams was never asked to be in the Force Awakens. He is still involved with the franchise through Rebels, recently appeared at Celebration, and is still open to reprising the role on the big screen.

I may have confused Billy with Denis... but the reasoning still stands. Any part written for Lando would probably be very minuscule.

My whole point was that the size of the part doesn't really matter to him.

I wouldn't settle for a scene where he only says "Hey guys, how's it going? Ok, bye now!" That's disrespect to the character second and disrespect to the actor first. I would much rather have him not being VII and show up in VIII in a decent supporting role rather than just a flyby in VII.

I think he's still a regular on the New Tricks TV series?

Hard to imagine that pays better and is probably has better prospects in the long run than a cameo in the new movie!

What has Billy Dee been involved in lately other than an episode of Rebels?

He was in a few episodes of NCIS, as the man Gibbs was named after.