Of all the returns and callbacks in The Rise of Skywalker, one of the most anticipated was Billy Dee Williams reprising his role as Lando Calrissian. Appearing on the desert planet Pasaana, Lando helps point Rey and the others towards finding a relic known as the Wayfinder capable of locating the resurrected Emperor Palpatine's hidden whereabouts.

While the film does not divulge Lando's activities since he was last seen celebrating on Endor at the end of Return of the Jedi, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker -- The Visual Dictionary provides the details on what the former Cloud City administrator has been up to in the intervening decades.

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The tie-in book reveals a dark tragedy befell Lando's family, leading him to join Luke Skywalker six years later as his old friend detected a disturbance in the Force and rumors of Palpatine's return from the grave. The two's search brought them to Pasaana, where there were rumors of someone looking for Sith relics. Lando immediately felt a kinship with the native Aki-Aki and a peace that had eluded him for years, deciding to make the desert planet his new home.

As one of the best pilots and most charming smooth-talkers in the galaxy, Lando has been a perennial fan-favorite character since his introduction in The Empire Strikes Back. While Donald Glover did an admirable job as a young Lando in Solo: A Star Wars Story, Williams' return is one of the most welcome moments in Episode IX.

Directed and co-written by J.J. Abrams, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker stars Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong'o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo, Billie Lourd, Keri Russell, Matt Smith, Anthony Daniels, Mark Hamill, Billy Dee Williams and Carrie Fisher, with Naomi Ackie and Richard E. Grant. The film is now in theaters.

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