BILLY DEE'S RETURN: GOOD OR BAD FOR LANDO?

It's official: Billy Dee Williams will reprise Lando Calrissian in J.J. Abrams' "Star Wars: Episode IX". 

I had expected Lando/Williams' re-entry in “Force Awakens”, but as we all discovered, "Episode VII" wasn’t the sentimental reunion we desired, even if some of us may have liked it on the whole. All the same, I thought the charming swashbuckler would at least guest star in "Last Jedi", but now I'm glad that he didn't, after having long pondered the chapter's insolent direction.  

I suspect we'll now find Lando a pervert, coward or who knows what in Lucasfilm's current, anything-goes mode. I also suspect, based on the company's blind eye to the "Solo" boycott, that "Episode IX" will be but another misguided venture in both characterization and plot, where mythological tradition will be once more stomped.  

It will be painful to see the ship go down this way, especially if Lando delivers the final blow. Still, after the disastrous dust settles, I imagine some ambitious whippersnapper will rejuvenate the franchise (much like Christopher Nolan did for Batman), and in so doing, all will be as right as rain. Still, what of Luke, Leia, Han and (if the dreadful track record does, indeed, prevail) Lando? It seems that the sting of their ignominy could last forever. 

So be it. Life goes on, in spite of blasphemy's residue. Besides, there's plenty of other franchises to relish and revisit. For example, I recently re-watched the original "Star Trek", "Mad Max" and "Planet of the Apes" movies and without any qualms, felt safe enough to revisit some of their recent offshoots: some good, some so-so, but none so discourteous to employ complete, ideological redesign. The bottom line: There's much to enjoy beyond "Star Wars". 

Reinterpretation is fine, but only if old-school qualities accompany it. In other words, old favorites are welcome to return, but if they're not what we've come to admire, it's better to relegate them to the past, where we're at least assured their actions and philosophies remain pure and loyal.