Lando's (Billy Dee Williams) final scene in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was a bit of a head-scratcher but a new companion book adds key pieces of information to his backstory which help give it more meaning. This is now becoming a weird, frustrating trend with Rise of Skywalker. Earlier this week we learned about how Fortnite held the key to some important backstory about Palpatine. So, if you went into the movie not having played Fortnite, you would have been way more confused when certain details were revealed. It's quite a bold move for Rise of Skywalker to talk but, alas, here we are.
Stop reading now if you don't want to see mild spoilers about Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
At the end of Rise of Skywalker, Lando has an interesting exchange with Jannah (Naomi Ackie). As reported by Entertainment Weekly, when Jannah tries to strike up a conversation with him, Lando initially appears uninterested. Then, as Lando turns to see who it is, he suddenly becomes interested in talking. The reasons are unclear for the change of heart but something's clearly up. Lando continues to get more interested in Jannah as she explains she doesn't know who her family is (hm, where have we heard that one?) because the First Order stole her away when she was very young. Lando then offers to help, telling her, "Well, let's find out."
It would be easy to write this moment off as Lando, ever the handsome rake, making a pass as a much younger woman who is no doubt overcome with joy at the recent destruction of the First/Final Order and ready to celebrate. But, as EW notes, a new companion book to Rise of Skywalker, the Rise of Skywalker Visual Dictionary, has an important passage about Lando's past. The book touches on Lando's life post-Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi and before Rise of Skywalker. The visual dictionary explains, "When peace reigned, [Lando] attempted to start a family, but tragedy struck and his infant daughter vanished. 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." Given what we know about Lando's final scene with Jannah, this passage from the Rise of Skywalker visual dictionary sheds some significant and meaningful light on the handsome Mr. Calrissian's exchange with Jannah. It not only implies Lando knew Jannah was his daughter while the two were talking but hints he was gearing up to reveal to Jannah he was her father. This is such a huge moment of character development for both Lando and Jannah, even without knowledge of Lando's backstory, and yet it feels so irksomely minimized considering it was thrown in at the end of the film.
This passage also makes things even more confusing in trying to unpack Lando and Jannah's final scene. Was this information about Lando's backstory known to both actors while they were filming the scene. Were they playing the scene as if Lando knew the truth about Jannah? Or did this information get retroactively written into the Rise of Skywalker Visual Dictionary as a means of clarifying some mystery about Lando's life without realizing it (weirdly) fits perfectly with the details Jannah shares in the movie? Either way, it's frustrating that we'd have to go to the companion text to even know this about Lando because this piece of his backstory feels extremely crucial in comprehending the scene.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is now in theaters. Make sure you check out our fun interview with Billy Dee Williams about Lando, working with director J.J. Abrams, and much more.