Billy Dee Williams says angry Star Wars fans confronted him for years: "You betrayed Han Solo!"
Jan. 26, 2024Williams also thinks Lando’s actions in The Empire Strikes Back are understandable
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Billy Dee Williams has felt the wrath of angry Star Wars fans.
In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly’sDagobah Dispatch podcast, the actor, who played Lando Calrissian in the saga, revealed that furious fans would often confront him for Lando’s betrayal of Han Solo inThe Empire Strikes Back.
“When I went to pick my daughter up from school, the kids would run up to me and say, ‘You betrayed Han Solo!'” the actor revealed. “I’d get on an airplane, and the airplane stewardess would say, ‘You betrayed Han Solo!’ Well, I got that for a lot of years.”
But, as Williams explained, Lando did have a pretty understandable reason for selling his old friend out. “So finally I said, ‘Look, think about the whole situation. You’re up against a pretty formidable character, Darth Vader, and then there’s of course Boba Fett. And these people were invading my space, and I had to bargain with them. But the bargain, it at least prevented the complete demise of Han Solo and his friends. But I had to hold on to my whole situation.'”
He continued: “So I found myself explaining all this stuff – well it’s not me, it’s Lando Calrissian – I found myself having to explain all of this, to a point where I finally said to people, ‘Look, I’m tired of explaining all of this. Did anybody die? Nobody died. I think that was a clear indication that I – or Lando – was trying to figure something out, and he was trying to figure primarily to hold onto his situation without the complete demise of his friends.'”
In fairness to Lando, hedidimmediately betray the Empire to help Chewie and Leia try to rescue Han. That’s enough for us to forgive him.
This year in Star Wars brings more Young Jedi Adventures, The Bad Batch season 3, Skeleton Crew, and The Acolyte. Keep up with everything with our guide to all theupcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows.
Sign up for the Total Film Newsletter
Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox
I’m a Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site’s Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.
5 years later, Star Wars fans have noticed an emotional Leia detail in The Rise of Skywalker
Dune’s Denis Villeneuve has no interest in directing Star Wars and it’s partly down to Return of the Jedi making him “so angry” in 1983: “It seemed like a recipe, no more surprises”
Todd Howard “rolled his eyes” at the idea of Troy Baker playing Indiana Jones in the Great Circle, but the Bethesda boss later told him “you’re doing a hell of a job”
