Donald Glover has another TV hit on his hands with Prime Video‘s “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” which means industry eyes will be on his next television venture: “Lando.” Glover and his brother Stephen took over writing duties from Justin Simien on the upcoming Disney+ series last summer, which basically guarantees them complete creative control. In a new THR interview, Glover confirmed that’s the case, and why honing a singular vision for the show informed his choice to take its reins creatively.
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Boarding “Lando” wasn’t an easy yes for Glover, (“I said yes because I like the characters and my kids love “Star Wars,” he quipped) but knowing he’d have creative control on the project with his brother won him over. “I just know when something’s going to be good, because you’re really fighting the industry when you [put your imprint on a franchise of that magnitude],” continued the multi-hyphenate. “And it’s not like … I was going to say, and it’s not like I hate the industry … I feel like I have enough control. And maybe you get painted as a control freak, but it’s like, yeah, control allows for the vision to be singular. And if the vision is singular, people want it more. The less it’s singular, the less people want it because they feel like they could’ve made it.”
Glover argued that the kind of singular vision he describes is essential in today’s media culture, inundated as it is by TikTok and its myriad content creators. “Look, we live in a time where anybody can f*cking make anything,” continued Glover. “You go on TikTok, there’s literally every type of thing. There’s documentaries, there’s puppetry, there’s yarn stop-motion. So why would you want to see something you feel like you could have made?”
Glover makes a valid argument, but how singular could he and Stephen’s vision be for “Lando” working for a Disney studio like Lucasfilm? Other “Star Wars” Disney+ series aren’t known for their originality, and their blandness is one of the more common critical charges against them. Then again, Glover has a knack for making his creative voice quite palpable through the TV medium. Last year’s “Swarm” didn’t do much critically, but “Atlanta,” which Glover created and starred in, is one of the most well-regarded series of the past ten years. And “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” proves Glover’s talents transcend genre.
In that sense, “Lando” has the potential to be the next big “Star Wars” hit on Disney+ after “The Mandalorian.” Who cares if “Solo: A Star Wars Story” was uneven? In the hands of the Glovers, the character’s charisma may be able to out-maneuver the creative impasses the “Star Wars” universe currently finds itself in.
“Mr. & Mrs. Smith” is streaming on Prime Video now.
