Williams returns to Star Wars role

Billy Dee Williams is reportedly set to reprise his role as Lando Calrissian in Star Wars: Episode IX, set for release in December 2019. Sources confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that Williams, 81, will return to the sci-fi franchise for the first time since 1983’s Return of the Jedi. Rumours began to swirl regarding his involvement in Episode IX, directed by J.J. Abrams, after Williams was forced to pull out of an appearance at the sci-fi convention Saskatchewan Entertainment Expo, which will take place in September. Filming will begin in August. Williams first played the suave space raconteur Calrissian in 1980s The Empire Strikes Back and made his final onscreen appearance in Return of the Jedi, although he voiced the character in 2014’s The Lego Movie.