This Enormous Rise Of Skywalker Lando Twist Has People Talking
Two characters in the Skywalker Saga — one newcomer, and one very familiar face — are apparently tied together in an unexpected way.
The tie-in book Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker — The Visual Dictionary contains a passage which strongly suggests that Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams) and former Stormtrooper Jannah (Naomi Ackie) are father and daughter. While the familial connection isn't made explicit in the film, it is certainly implied in a quiet scene between the two in the movie's third act.
In the scene, Lando — who never mentions any children in the film — asks Jannah if she knows where she's from. Jannah, who went rogue just like Finn did in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, is known to have been one of the many, many children abducted by the First Order as it went about beefing up the ranks of its Stormtrooper forces.
In response to Lando's question, Jannah shakes her head no — to which Lando replies, "Well, let's find out." The interaction is a vague one, but the Visual Dictionary makes it pretty clear that it does indeed imply what many fans though it did.
In Lando's entry, the book states that "When peace reigned" after the fall of the Empire, "[Lando] attempted to start a family, but tragedy struck and his infant daughter vanished." It then goes on to clarify just what happened to Lando's child. "It was only later that it became clear who the culprits behind the abduction were: the First Order, building their fighting forces but also specifically striking out at the old Alliance leadership."
It's a little strange that such a bombshell would be dropped not within the film itself, but in a piece of tie-in merchandise. One might almost think that Lando and Jannah's connection is one that Lucasfilm and Disney might be interested in exploring further, perhaps in a future movie or even a Disney+ series; as scintillating as the idea might be, we unfortunately don't find it to be likely. Not that Williams himself has closed the door on the idea; asked whether The Rise of Skywalker constituted the end of Lando's story in a recent interview with Esquire, the star said, "It's a conclusion — certainly it depends on how much money is generated. That's when they determine where's the conclusion. The one thing about show business, you can resurrect anything."
Here's the thing, however: starring in a feature film or TV series is pretty demanding, and Williams is 82 years old. Far be it from us to presume; heck, Sir Patrick Stewart is 79, and his CBS All Access series Star Trek: Picard was recently renewed for a second season before the first one even dropped. All we know is that when we're 82, we'll likely be spending all day playing shuffleboard in our bathrobes rather than reporting to the set of a television series at 4 AM for months on end.
What else was revealed by the Rise of Skywalker Visual Dictionary?
Jannah's likely parentage isn't the only plot point made clear by Rise of Skywalker — The Visual Dictionary, and many of its more interesting revelations have the effect of canonizing tangential Star Wars properties, many of them Extended Universe works from before Lucasfilm's absorption by Disney. Take, for example, the section explaining that the Sith Trooper legions bear the names of famous Sith Lords of the past: among these names are Phobos, Desoulos, and Revan.
Darth Phobos and Darth Desoulos were both characters encountered in the 2008 video game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, which took place between the events of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: A New Hope. Its plot deals with the machinations of Darth Vader, who trains the player character Galen Marek in the ways of the Dark Side of the Force with the intent to use him to assassinate Emperor Palpatine and take his place as ruler of the Empire.
Darth Revan is the main character of the 2003 RPG Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, widely considered to be one of the finest Star Wars games ever created. The game slowly reveals that the player, who begins the story with severe amnesia, is indeed the Sith Lord Revan; the player can use this knowledge either to defeat his former apprentice Darth Malak and save the galaxy, or to usurp his position to become the new Dark Lord of the Sith.
The fact that Rise of Skywalker canonizes both of these games is incredibly significant, as they have long been considered canon by the fan base. For that matter, it's been heavily rumored since mid-2019 that one of the next Star Wars films to enter development will be based on Knights of the Old Republic, although this hasn't been confirmed.
A couple more interesting revelations from the book: that Starkiller Base, the deadly space station employed by the First Order in The Force Awakens, was built from the remains of the planet Ilum (as seen in the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars), and that the planet Kylo Ren visits during The Rise of Skywalker's opening scene is Mustafar, the volcanic planet on which Anakin Skywalker lost his fateful fight with Obi-Wan Kenobi and became Darth Vader.
Needless to say, the book is a highly interesting read, and it serves to illustrate the fact that Rise of Skywalker contained damn near too much story to fit into one film. At 200 pages, it seems pretty likely that there are a few details we may have missed in Rise of Skywalker — The Visual Dictionary... in fact, if you'll excuse us, we're going to go and read it again just to make sure.