Star Wars’ Lando Calrissian Gets Own Comic This Summer

Lando Calrissian is a favorite among Star War fans. Jusk ask writer Charles Soule, who’s living the dream of exploring what happened before the audience meets the swaggering smuggler in Marvel’s comic series.

When Star Wars viewers first meet Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams) on screen in middle of his arc, there’s a lot left unsaid on what happened before The Empire Strikes Back.

Marvel decided to open up the possibilities through comics and picked Charles Soule (She-Hulk, Death of Wolverine) to explore what really happened. It helps when passionate fans pick up a pen in defense of a favorite.

Lando is all about the debonair ne’er-do-well.

Marvel.com caught up with the writer to discuss the limited-run series and why use Lando in the first place. Lando “gets a hero’s journey of his own in the movies,” says Soule. “He seems to have a fascinating backstory.”

Between the history with Han Solo and losing the Millennium Falcon, there’s so much to explore for creative team.

“He sells his friends out to the Empire. Now, it’s all somewhat understandable, and he does his best to make things right, but still. He’s no Luke Skywalker.”

So how do you go from “a smooth-talking smuggler” to hero? Blow up the second Death Star for one. But what makes a character become that smuggler in the first place? That’s the answer that Soule is looking for.

“Lando’s already lost the Falcon, and he’s sort of scrambling around, trying to figure out what he’s going to do with his life.”

Setting a heist tale through a lifelong gambling lens, he “really knows when to walk away from the table.” A push of ‘just one more time’ to really win the prize. “He can get ahead with just one good hand.”

But instead of using a gambling hall and a Bret Maverick redux, “Lando gets into crazy, extreme situations because they’re his version of making big bets at the card table.”

You’ve Been Hit By A Smooth Criminal: Lando Calrissian Coming to Comic Shops This Summer http://t.co/r554hs6z3O pic.twitter.com/3fynvMkCIJ— ComicsAlliance (@comicsalliance) April 16, 2015

So what can fans look for in the latest run?

“It’s a story about a hyper-charismatic, ultra-smooth guy who gets into huge jams constantly, and tends to get out of them through a combination of luck and charm.” Who doesn’t love a little space adventure, right?

“More specifically in this story, we’ve got a big, swashbuckly adventure with some serious twists and even some slight horror overtones.”

Speaking to StarWars.com, the author revealed a bit more on which Lando will appear on page.

“Lando Calrissian was just a man trying to make his way through an uncaring universe determined not to recognize that he was undeniably the coolest man in the galaxy.” So it’s easy to see how the “the deal of a lifetime” ends up turning everything upside down.

Following a “one step forward, two steps back” motion defines Lando Calrissian. A resourceful, not-so-honest schemer looking to get ahead and get back what life and society stole.

Returning what was lost is “more like a moral thing,” a life debt that must be repaid. Even if the ending never goes quite as planned, that need to find square one again motivates Lando to do some pretty incredulous actions. But the Inhuman writer remained quiet on what the major catalyst is.

Soule takes his fan appreciation and transforms it into a strong backstory for one of the most popular characters in the original trilogy. and Lando has shown up in Star War Rebels recently, as a young up-and-coming rebel ally. And Williams loves playing the part. But Lando‘s all about exploring the galaxy with a slightly amoral smuggler with a haunting secret.

In conjunction with Lucasfilm, Lando is true to the idea of what made the titular character so important in the scheme of things. After all, not everyone gets to blow up a Death Star and live to tell about it.

And it looks like Lobot’s returning, too. Featuring the art of Alex Maleev (Daredevil, Spider-Woman), Soule compliments the styling and artistic feel of the work. Playing in what the author calls a “realistic fantasy universe,” Maleev manages to use his likeness talent to create brand new scenery, characters, and worlds “while still being very grounded and making it all feel lived-in.”

In this part of the universe—in a galaxy, far, far away—Lando Calrissian’s past is about to help blow up a few Star Wars favorites.

Lando jets off in July 2015.