Star Wars: Lando Must Answer One Rise of Skywalker Mystery
Lando Calrissian, one of the galaxy's most beloved secondary characters, will be explored in the upcoming Disney+ series Star Wars: Lando—a show that needs to answer a mystery from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Lando was an important part of Star Wars' original trilogy and continued to make appearances in both Legends and modern canon following Return of the Jedi. The character returned to live-action films, played by Donald Glover in Solo: A Star Wars Story and by original actor Billy Dee Williams in The Rise of Skywalker. The sequel trilogy ends with the tease of Lando resuming the search for his long-lost daughter, a question which Lando is in the perfect position to answer.
Lando Calrissian never mentions his daughter directly in The Rise of Skywalker, but companion material such as sourcebooks and the film’s official novelization reveal that she’d been targeted by the First Order and kidnapped. Calrissian never found his daughter, though he lamented the possibility that she’d become a First Order Stormtrooper, brainwashed into committing atrocities and deployed into front line combat. The First Order cruelly targeted the children of famous Rebellion figures, with Han and Leia’s son infamously becoming Kylo Ren.
While the mystery of Lando’s daughter is never solved, some fans suspect that she might be Jannah, a hero introduced in The Rise of Skywalker played by Naomi Ackie. There’s little evidence to suggest that this is the case, other than Jannah’s First Order Stormtrooper past and age possibly aligning with Lando’s own general timetable. Nevertheless, Lando’s position as the titular hero’s first solo adventure in live-action places it in the perfect position to solve this important mystery, whether or not Lando’s daughter is Jannah.
The post-2014 canon continuity has a grimmer future for the original Star Wars trilogy’s heroes, with Han and Leia dying and their son becoming the Master of the Knights of Ren and eventual First Order Supreme Leader (despite his later redemption). Luke also dies having never improved the Jedi Order nor started a family as he did in Legends. Lando Calrissian is a key hero in the original trilogy and while he survives the sequels and never betrays his ideals, his missing daughter is still an important plot thread to follow up on.
The identity of Lando’s daughter matters less than how the plot thread is resolved. Jannah is a likable hero who stands on her own merits, so she’d be a welcome addition to the cast of Lando regardless of her potential familial relationship with the now-retired smuggler. As a former Stormtrooper seeking to help others and find a new purpose, Jannah is already in a position for further adventures and character development.
The premise of Lando has yet to be revealed, so it may take place in a variety of potential eras. If the story takes place after The Rise of Skywalker, it must address the lingering question of Lando’s daughter as well as showing Calrissian continuing his heroism in a galaxy no longer terrorized by Palpatine and his underlings. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker set up Lando Calrissian and Jannah for a series of new adventures, which gives Star Wars: Lando an opportunity to resolve the mystery of Lando’s daughter.