Star Warsco-stars Billy Dee Williams and Harrison Ford are celebrating four decades of friendship in a new reunion photo. At the premiere forThe Rise of Skywalker, Williams and Ford pose together in an image posted to Williams' Twitter account. “Some things never change… over 40 years of friendship,” Williams writes in the caption, with the photo making his point all the more clear. You can take a look at the tweet below.
Billy Dee Williams first joined theStar Warsfranchise in 1980 when he debuted as Lando Calrissian inThe Empire Strikes Back, starring him alongsideHarrison Fordas Han Solo for the first time. Both actors would reprise their roles in 1983 for the final movie of the original trilogy,Return of the Jedi. Ford would later return as Han Solo forThe Force Awakensin 2015, while Williams plays Lando once again inThe Rise of Skywalker. It’s unfortunate their characters weren’t able to reunite in the new trilogy, but it’s just as awesome to see Williams and Ford together again behind the scenes.
WhileLando Calrissian and Han Soloweren’t able to catch back up in the Abrams/Johnson trilogy, younger versions of the two characters appeared in the prequel spin-offSolo: A Star Wars Story. Because neither Williams nor Ford were featured in the movie, it obviously didn’t have a reunion between the two actors. Playing their younger counterparts were Alden Ehrenreich and Donald Glover as Han Solo and Lando Calrissian, respectively. Because the movie fell far short of studio expectations, it’s unclear if it will ever be given an official sequel or if we’ll ever see the characters again.
ForThe Rise of Skywalker,Billy Dee Williamsjoins other returningStar Warfranchise stars Mark Hamill, Daisy Ridler, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Anthony Daniels, Ian McDiarmid, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyon’o, Kelly Marie Tran, Billie Lourd, Domhnall Gleeson, and Joonas Suofamo. Naomi Ackie, Keri Russell, and Richard E. Grant also star as new additions to the cast. The late Carrie Fisher will also posthumously appear as Leia Organa by way of unreleased footage of the actress originally filmed for the previous movies.
J. J. Abrams directsThe Rise of Skywalkerusing a screenplay co-written by Abrams and Chris Terrio. The final installment of the thirdStar Warstrilogy, the movie sees the Resistance going to battle with the First Order one last time, giving proper closure to manyfan favorite characters from the original trilogyin addition to those introduced in the Abrams movies. How effectively the movie caps off the series is clearly a matter of opinion, as its early reviews have been very mixed on Rotten Tomatoes.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalkerofficially premieres in theaters on Dec. 20. It’s always exciting when there’s a newStar Warsmovie in theaters, but this one will be a bit bittersweet as we’ll be seeing some of the most beloved fan favorite characters in the franchise for the last time. This news comes to us viaBilly Dee Williams.
