'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker' Novelization Adds Needed Context to Jannah Meeting Lando Calrissian

Plenty of details about Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker have been revealed in supplementary materials like the Visual Dictionary companion book and the novelization of the final chapter of the Skywalker saga. Now yet another detail has been revealed about a much-discussed and perplexing moment from the end of the film.

In the final moments of The Rise of Skywalker, when the Resistance is celebrating victory over the First Order, Jannah (Naomi Ackie), the former First Order Stormtrooper turned revolutionary, sits down to meet Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams). The scene brought about one of two readings. Either Lando was hitting on Jannah, which felt really weird, or there may have been a hint that Jannah was Lando’s daughter. Well, The Rise of Skywalker novelization seems to debunk both of those assumptions.

Here’s the ending scene in question with Lando Calrissian and Jannah:

In the scene, Jannah sits down and asks Lando where he’s from. Calrissian says he’s from the Gold System and asks Jannah the same question. She says she doesn’t know where she’s from, to which Lando somewhat flirtatiously says, “Well, let’s find out.” So you can see where the presued readings of the scene came from.

Previously, the idea of Jannah created to be Lando’s daughter felt like it might be confirmed when the Visual Dictionary for The Rise of Skywalker revealed that Lando’s own daughter was abducted by the First Order. The excerpt from that book read:

“When peace reigned, [Lando] attempted to start a family, but tragedy struck and his infant daughter vanished. It was only later that it became clear who the culprits behind the abduction were: the First Order, building their fighting forces but also specifically striking out at the old Alliance leadership.”

However, the novelization reveals that this exchange is merely meant to be part an initiative Lando is taking up to help kids who were kidnapped by the First Order and turned into Stormtroopers. Those that revolted against the First Order need to their new place in the galaxy, and Lando wants to help them. An excerpt from the novelization written by Rae Carlson (via ScreenRant) explains:

“Lando and the Lady Luck would help these special kids. Find their families, if that’s what they wanted. Help them discover their new place in the galaxy. Heck, maybe he’d find his daughter. Probably not; he knew the odds. But that would be a pretty good way to spend his twilight years, right? If the kids were amenable, anyway.”

The Lady Luck is Lando’s ship, a detail taken from the Expanded Universe stories now regarded as non-canon legends. The mention of the fact that Lando might find his daughter by taking on this noble quest would seem to indicate that he doesn’t think Jannah is his daughter.

Part of me wonders if this was something written into the book after the movie came out to help clarify the scene, especially after that excerpt from the Visual Dictionary muddled things. After all, it would be an awful small world if Lando ran into his daughter in the final stand against the First Order (or the Final Order), especially since the galaxy is so big. But there are already a number of coincidences throughout the nine films of the Skywalker saga, especially when you consider the major events that have played out as they pertain to Anakin Skywalker, his kids Luke and Leia, and everyone surrounding them. So maybe this wouldn’t have been that big of a stretch.

At the end of the day, it’s probably better if the future for Lando and Jannah is left open-ended for comics, books, and maybe even movies or TV shows. It would be nice if we saw Lando Calrissian one more time, especially with the door open for more adventures. But with so many of the future Star Wars stories currently under wraps, it’s hard to know what to expect. Hopefully we’ll hear more about that soon.

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