Lando Calrissian/Legends

Lando Calrissian (born c. 30 BBY) was a former smuggler and long-time associate of Han Solo, who became Baron Administrator of Cloud City for a time before its takeover during the Galactic Civil War. He subsequently joined the Rebellion, and led the dangerous mission to enter the second Death Star's core and destroy its reactor.

Early Years
Calrissian's early years were obscured by history and Calrissian's own fabrications. His homeworld was unknown, though some noted a hint of Corellian accent in his voice. The earliest reliable accounts of his life date to 4 BBY, when Calrissian was around the age of twenty-seven. Already a professional gambler, Calrissian won a battered YT-1300 freighter called the Millennium Falcon in a high stakes game of sabacc. Calrissian had no piloting experience, and so sought out a tutor by the name of Han Solo.

Solo taught him the basics of starship piloting, and Calrissian used this knowledge to fly the Falcon to the Centrality. While on Oseon 2795, he won an exuberant droid called Vuffi Raa from Ottdefa Osuno Whett, but had to travel to Rafa IV to acquire it. Before he could depart, Calrissian was arrested on trumped-up charges by Governor Duttes Mer and forced to aid Rokur Gepta, a Sorceror of Tund, to locate the Mindharp of Sharu.



Provided with a transdimensional key, Calrissian chose to begin his search on Rafa V, location of the largest Sharu pyramid in the Rafa system. He was ambushed by several Toka, who tied him to one of the crystalline lifetrees, hoping he would freeze during the night. However, Lando was resourceful, and even though the lifetree was robbing him of intelligent thought, he was able to free himself, though his feet were severely frostbitten and required light bacta treatment in a portable gel-bath kept on the Falcon. Calrissian and Vuffi Raa investigated the largest pyramid and located the Mindharp, and were promptly teleported back to Rafa IV. Vuffi Raa, who in fact had been programmed to betray Calrissian before he had even been "won," promptly turned Calrissian in to Governor Mer. Mer greedily took the Mindharp and sentenced Calrissian to a lifetime of hard labor, but Vuffi Raa, having fulfilled his imperative to betray Calrissian, rescued the gambler just as Mer activated the Mindharp. As the two fled Rafa IV, the transdimensional artifact's subharmonic emanations restored the Toka into the Sharu that they once were, and the great pyramids of the Rafa system crumbled, leaving alien cities in their wake.

Calrissian and Vuffi Raa entered hyperspace with a full hold of the last Rafa life crystals to leave the Rafa system; this valuable cargo netted Calrissian nearly 250,000 credits. Returning to Nar Shaddaa, he bought a used-starship lot from a Duros, but discovered the business was expensive and difficult to run. He was pondering selling it off when the Empire arrived in the criminal-ridden system. Calrissian donated his inventory to his fellow outlaws, and Vuffi Raa piloted the Millennium Falcon deftly in the resulting Battle of Nar Shaddaa. The attack was diverted, but less than 10% of his stock was still spaceworthy. Calrissian sold 90% ownership in what was left of his lot to Roa at a loss.

Calrissian sought a way to recover his losses, and saw an opportunity in the regional sabacc championships that were soon to be held at Cloud City's Yarith Bespin casino. In order to raise the ten thousand credit buy-in, Calrissian and Vuffi Raa returned to the Centrality and attempted to haul legitimate cargo, but tariffs, fees, and licensing cost him more than he made, leaving him with nothing. Thus, when an opportunity to play sabacc in the Oseon system during the Flamewind arose, Calrissian accepted.



Soon after arriving at Oseon 6845, Calrissian was assaulted and forced to shoot his assailant in self-defense. The Administrator Senior of the Oseon System, Lob Doluff, was forced to inform Calrissian that the penalty for possessing a deadly weapon was death by exposure, but since the administrator admired Calrissian, arranged for him to instead participate in a drug bust against the lesai-using wealthy industrialist Bohhuah Mutdah. Posing as Mutdah's dealer, Calrissian transported two agents, Bassi Vobah and Waywa Fybot, through the maddening radiation of the Flamewind to Oseon 5792.

Mutdah turned out to be Rokur Gepta in disguise, who promptly killed the two agents and planned to kill Calrissian, but was saved by the intervention of Renatasian starfighters, whose goal was to kill Vuffi Raa.

Calrissian was also involved in the Imperial blockade of the ThonBoka Nebula.

Calrissian entered the Cloud City tournament, but wound up in second place, and gave his old friend Han Solo the choice of which ship he wanted from his lot on Nar Shaddaa. Han, unexpectedly to Lando, chose the Millennium Falcon, the ugliest but most efficient ship in the lot.

Some time later, Lando assisted Han in an attack on the Hutt spice and slavery operations on Ylesia, which Han was involved in due to being in love with Rebel agent Bria Tharen, the mastermind of the operation. Han recruited several smugglers for the strike, including Lando. In the end, they were successful, but Bria decided to keep the spoils for the Rebellion, leaving Han with nothing to pay Lando and the smugglers, and creating a large rift between Solo and Calrissian.

Lando once again entered the Cloud City sabacc tournament, and this time won the title of Baron Administrator of Cloud City from the current Administrator, Baron Dominic Raynor.

Entering the Galactic Civil War, 3-4 ABY


As a key source of Tibanna gas, Cloud City was a lucrative target for Imperial nationalization. Calrissian sought to retain its independence by making a covert agreement with the Empire (personally arranged by Darth Vader himself) to assist in the capture of Luke Skywalker and several other important Rebels. Among them was Lando's longtime friend Han Solo and Leia Organa.

Lando fulfilled his part of the agreement, which included testing the carbonite-freezing process (normally used to prepare Tibanna gas for shipment) on Han Solo. Darth Vader intended to use this method, if it was found feasible, to transport Skywalker to the Emperor. However, as the terms of the deal worsened, and it became clear the Empire intended to take control of the floating city regardless, Calrissian assisted the Rebels in their escape. Feeling guilty for what had happened to his old friend, he went on to infiltrate Jabba the Hutt's organization and help Skywalker rescue Han Solo from the crimelord's clutches.

Calrissian became a high-profile member of the Rebellion after that, rising to the rank of general. He was particularly known for flying his old ship, the Millennium Falcon, alongside Nien Nunb during the Battle of Endor, leading the assault into the Death Star II that destroyed the battle station and effectively sealed the Empire's fate.

New Republic Era, 4-25 ABY


After the Battle of Endor, Lando would continue to serve the New Republic and its successor government the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances – usually as a civilian, but intermittently taking up his general's commission again. In civilian life, he became the administrator of Hologram Fun World and Nomad City. During the resurrection of Emperor Palpatine, he and R2-D2 would also be responsible for the destruction of two of Palpatine's superweapons: the Galaxy Gun and the Eclipse II. He also served the New Republic during the Caamas Document crisis, going with Han Solo on a mission to the Imperial Remnant's capital Bastion in an effort to retrieve the document, and leading a combined New Republic fleet at the Battle of Bothawui.

After the Bastion Accords were signed, he married Tendra Risant. Together, they ran a mining operation on Dubrillion and Destrillion. During the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, Lando would be responsible for establishing Tendrando Arms, which manufactured deadly YVH 1 Droids.

Behind the scenes
Lando Calrissian was portrayed on-screen by Billy Dee Williams, who reprised the role for the radio adaptation of The Empire Strikes Back, and also in Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast. In the radio adaptation of Return of the Jedi, Arye Gross was the voice of Lando.

On June 9, 2005, at the American Film Institute's award ceremony for George Lucas, Williams collected on his experience as Lando, and light-heartedly described the character as a "super-space stud".

Trivia

 * Lando existed as several different entities in early drafts of The Empire Strikes Back:
 * In the first draft of Episode V, Lando was known as Lando Kadar, a refugee from the Clone Wars making a living as a smuggler on Hoth
 * A gambler cum general store owner on the Wookiee homeworld
 * The leader of a group of clones from the Clone Wars; his homeworld was to be filled with clones spread across 700 countries, each of which belonged to a specific clan

Appearances

 * Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu
 * Lando Calrissian and the Flamewind of Oseon
 * Lando Calrissian and the Starcave of ThonBoka
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
 * Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
 * Dark Empire
 * Dark Empire II
 * Empire's End
 * Heir to the Empire
 * Dark Force Rising
 * The Last Command
 * The Hutt Gambit
 * Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
 * Rebel Dawn
 * Shadows of the Empire
 * Specter of the Past
 * Star by Star
 * ''The Black Fleet Crisis trilogy
 * Vision of the Future