Race + Sci-Fi: ‘Blackstar Warrior’ and the ‘real’ life story of Lando Calrissian

By Arturo R. García

I don’t know about you, but I could get used to seeing Han Solo as an incompetent sidekick.

In the mock (slightly NSFW – skimpy clothing) trailer for “Blackstar Warrior,” we see a “lost” story from the Star Wars universe, where Lando Calrissian gets to shine in a blaxploi-riffic shoot ‘em up, even facing down Darth Vader himself.

Lando is one of those characters who became popular despite a relative lack of screen time in George Lucas’ original trilogy; a quick Wiki check shows he’s been remembered well-enough in pop-culture to become a popular point of reference. But a look at the series’ “expanded universe” -  the various books based on the films – shows Calrissian as a much bigger player in a galaxy far, far away. (Sorry, couldn’t resist.)

The five-book Lando Calrissian Adventures series chronicles Lando’s life before we “meet him” in The Empire Strikes Back. I won’t spoil the books here other than to say that we get to see how Lando ended up as both the owner of the Millenium Falcon and the administrator for Cloud City, while being very much his own action hero.

Calrissian’s story comes to a close, so to speak, in The Corellian Trilogy, set after Return Of The Jedi. In this series, Lando sets out to find himself a wife, while keeping an eye on his bottom line, and faces one last battle before he can call it quits.

Meanwhile, if you liked “Blackstar,” check out this 3-part mockumentary from BadAzzMofo covering  the story of the lost “black Star Wars.”