These last couple of months have been busy for Star Wars fans. First, it was announced that George Lucas was selling his beloved Lucasfilms to Disney in October 2012 with the deal being finalized in December. Then, a month later, Star Wars buzz went into overdrive when Star Trek: Into Darkness director, J.J. Abrams was tapped to direct Star Wars: Episode VII. Since then rumors have been circulating about the return of the beloved original cast members, Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher better known as Han Solo, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa. Until recently, Billy Dee Williams, who played Lando Calrissian in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, had not been mentioned in the mix.
Hamill recently spoke to Entertainment Tonight confirming the talks between him and the other cast members with Lucasfilms.
"They're talking to us," he said. "George Lucas wanted to know whether we'd be interested. He did say that if we didn't want to do it, they wouldn't cast another actor in our parts -- they'd just write us out...I can tell you right away that we haven't signed any contracts. We're in a stage where they want us to go in and meet Michael Arndt, who is the writer, and Kathleen Kennedy, who is going to run Lucasfilm. Both have had meetings set that were postponed -- on their end not mine. They're more busy than I am."
Hamill then elaborated about wanting the original Star Wars crew back together again for Episode VII including Williams.
"And another thing that I want to make sure of is are we going to have the whole gang back? Is Carrie, Harrison, Billy Dee and Tony Daniels, everybody that's from the original [returning]? I want to make sure that everyone's on board here, rather than just one."
Williams has yet to respond to Hamill's comments but he's been busy himself. Most recently he appeared as himself on Modern Family in January 2013 and In 2009, the 53-year old actor had a series role on soap opera spinoff, General Hospital Night Shift playing Toussaint Du Bois. The show was later canceled.
Williams has a steady online presence as well. According to his twitter page he's already planning on attending the Emerald City Con Con in Seattle, Washington in March, which Fisher will also attend and he was apart of Star Wars night at a Detroit Pistons game in January 2013. His IMDB page also proudly displays a picture of a younger Williams as Lando Calrissian as its main photo. Maybe this means Williams is willing to return to the character that made him an legend?
Back in November 2012, Williams spoke to TMZ and confirmed that no one has spoken to him about returning to the Star Wars franchise. When asked if he'd be open to the possibility of a return and Williams simply said, "I suppose so."
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