One of the most beloved characters in Star Wars is Lando Calrissian, first brought to life by Billy Dee Williams in The Empire Strikes Back.
In that film, Lando was the Baron Administrator of Cloud City who betrayed Han Solo, Leia Organa, and Chewbacca, but later had a change of heart, helping them (minus Han) escape. He then aided in Han’s rescue in Return of the Jedi before leading the Rebel assault on the second Death Star, flying the Millennium Falcon into the heart of the deadly space station and firing the shot that destroyed it.
But what happened to him after the Battle of Endor? Let’s explore what we know.
New Republic General
Following his daring attack on the second Death Star, Lando Calrissian continued to serve as a general for the Alliance (and then the New Republic) in their continued fight against the Empire. One event that took place, though the timing of when is unclear, was that Lando and his co-pilot Nien Nunb stopped to refuel the Millennium Falcon at a space station but were surprised by the bounty hunter Embo, who wanted to collect the bounty on Calrissian’s head for destroying the Death Star. Lando and Nunb outwitted Embo, however, and escaped.
At one point, the elite Imperial troopers of Inferno Squad, Iden Versio and Del Meeko, defected and were picked up by Calrissian’s fleet. The General offered them freedom, allowing them to take X-Wings and leave, but also offered them the chance to help stop the Empire. They took him up on the latter option, traveling with Calrissian’s fleet to Naboo, where they assisted Leia Organa and others in fending off Operation: Cinder from destroying the planet. The arrival of Calrissian’s reinforcements helped turn the tide of the battle, scoring a victory for the New Republic.
Some time later, Calrissian and Shriv Surgav traveled to Sullust to infiltrate an old Imperial outpost with the intention of retrieving weapons for the New Republic. Upon arriving, however, they discovered that the outpost wasn’t abandoned but was actually an active facility for hthe Imperial remnants. Lando called an audible upon seeing this, deciding that instead of retrieving weapons they should destroy the facility. They were successful at this, but found themselves without a way of escape. Because of the seemingly helpless situation, Shriv sarcastically said to Lando, “If I die here, I’m glad you will too,” to which the General responded, “Well thank you, buddy!” But they were rescued by Inferno Squad, living to fight another day and having successfully destroyed the Imperial facility.
As the final year of the war dragged on, at some point Calrissian led a siege of Imperial Governor Ubrik Adelhard’s forces, located in the Anoat sector (where Bespin was). Adelhard had cracked down on the sector in the wake of the Battle of Endor, insisting that the news of the Emperor’s death was nothing more than Rebel propaganda and exerting a total lockdown of his territory. On the inside, however, Lando’s old friend Lobot helped lead an Uprising against Adelhard’s forces on Cloud City, and Calrissian laid siege from the outside. By the time of the Battle of Jakku, Adelhard’s forces had fallen to Calrissian’s. Lando reunited with Lobot and together they finished re-taking Cloud City. This was happening at the same time as the Battle of Jakku and the birth of Ben Solo, for whom Lando discussed gift ideas with Lobot. (Later, we see that a young Ben was familiar with his “Uncle Wanwo” and enjoyed seeing him.)
Mission with Han Solo
Two years later (7 ABY), Lando had established a droid manufacturing business on Cloud City called Calrissian Enterprises, but a failed assassination attempt caused Lando to visit Han Solo on Chandrila. There he and Solo discuss something called the Phylanx Redux Transmitter, something both of them had encountered decades earlier, and Calrissian reveals that Fryzen Gor wants it and was behind the assassination attempt – and is threatening much suffering on Cloud City if it’s not given to him.
Lando and Han set off together to try to stop Gor, and they put together a team that includes Calrissian’s Twi’lek aide (and lover), Kaasha Bateen and the Wookiee Chewbacca (whom they reunite with on Kashyyyk), among others. After a series of adventures as the crew attempts to track down Gor, they eventually find him and put an end to his plan, killing him. As Solo and Chewie return to their families on Chandrila and Kashyyyk, respectively, Lando heads off with Kaasha to (perhaps) begin their own.
Starting a Family
Though it’s unknown whether Lando and Kaasha stayed together, we do know that Calrissian attempted to settle down and start a family. Around 13 ABY, Lando welcomed the birth of his daughter. But tragically, when she was just two years old, she disappeared. Later, Lando came to realize that the First Order had kidnapped his daughter, as they were attempting to target the old Rebel Alliance leadership. The heartbreak of losing his daughter and not knowing what happened to her stuck with Lando.
Mission with Luke Skywalker
Six years after Lando’s daughter was kidnapped, his friend Luke Skywalker was sensing the dark side of the Force and was concerned that, just maybe, the Sith had returned – or never quite died at all. In an attempt to get to the bottom of it and, if necessary, put an end to the Sith, Skywalker began searching for answers – which included investigating leads to Exegol. Ever-connected to the galaxy’s underworld, Lando got word from a contact that a Sith assassin, Ochi of Bestoon, had been overheard bragging at a bar of searching for and finding the Emperor’s wayfinder in a vault. This led Skywalker and Calrissian to begin searching together for Ochi, and again Lando’s contacts passed on information about a Sith relic hunter on Pasaana. So the two friends traveled to the desert planet in search of Ochi and tracked him to the scorched sands, where they found his ship but lost the trail from there.
Skywalker wouldn’t find his way to Exegol, and Calrissian wouldn’t find his way off Pasaana. Still suffering from the heartbreak of losing his daughter, and being enamored with the livelihood of the Aki-Aki people on the planet, Lando decided to stay and live on Pasaana as a hermit.
Life on Pasaana
As far as we know, Calrissian’s life on Pasaana was humble and uneventful. He seemingly lived there in seclusion for 14 years, content to live among the natives and adopt a quieter retirement. He donned gear that masked his identity both from visitors and from scanners, aware that as a former Rebellion hero he would certainly catch the eye of people – and probably not the people he’d want to be noticed by. While Lando’s retirement seems quiet, we do know that he wasn’t totally disconnected (like, say, Luke Skywalker was on Ahch-To). We know this because, in 28 ABY, Lando heard about the massive scandal that Leia Organa was the daughter of Darth Vader, and he sent a message of support to his friend.
Years later, in 35 ABY, Calrissian’s old way of life would catch up to him once more. Leia, now the General of the Resistance and leading the war against the First Order, contacted him on Pasaana to say that a team was going to be arriving soon in search of Ochi. When the team of Rey, Poe Dameron, Finn, Chewbacca, BB-8, and C-3PO arrived, Lando rescued them from a First Order patrol and gave them the location of Ochi’s ship, sending them on their way. While Lando initially declined to join the team in their quest, he made his way to a perch overlooking the Millennium Falcon and reminisced as he looked at his old ship. He had previously declined to join the war because he thought he had earned a quiet retirement, but now he decided he would rise to fight once more.
The Battle of Exegol
Lando arrived on Ajan Kloss too late to reunite with Organa, however, as the General passed away right before Calrissian got there. But he did get there in time to encourage the Resistance’s new leader, General Poe Dameron, with a message of hope. Dameron devised a plan to attack the Final Order on Exegol, having received the coordinates of how to get there from Rey. But with the massive fleet assembled at Exegol, the Resistance stood no chance – so Lando and Chewbacca took the Millennium Falcon on a mission to the core worlds, trying to rally the galaxy to their cause.
They did.
Just when things seemed most dire at Exegol, Lando and Chewie arrived with a massive fleet, assembled of ordinary people from all over the galaxy who decided to rise up and fight the oppression of the First Order. Taking on the massive Sith Eternal fleet, the arrival of the galaxy’s forces turned the tide of the battle, ending in a decisive victory in the fight against evil. As the Sith fleet collapsed, Lando and Chewie raced the Falcon into the heart of the destruction, rescuing Finn and Jannah from a Star Destroyer just before it crashed.
Returning to Ajan Kloss, Calrissian watched the joyous celebration of victory. Jannah approached him and talked with him, and Lando discovered that she was taken from her family and forced to be a stormtrooper; she didn’t know where she was from. “Well let’s find out,” Lando told her, setting the stage for future adventures.
Check out more in the “What were they up to after Endor?” series:
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