Star Wars: Donald Glover casting sparks hilarious Internet reactions

Friday, Donald Glover was confirmed to play a younger Lando Calrissian in the Star Wars anthology film about Han Solo — and the Internet embraced him with open arms.

When you consider Ben Affleck as Batman and the diverse ensemble of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the Internet is not typically the place to look for positive reactions to casting news. Glover, on the other hand, sparked many lively and hilarious responses, including some Magic Mike and Community riffs, more Star Wars dream casting, and lots of choice Photoshopping. Even some members of his Star Wars family joined in on the fun.

Glover joins Alden Ehrenreich, who will play a young Han Solo, in the anthology film scheduled for release on May 25, 2018. Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the directing duo behind The Lego Movie and 22 Jump Street, will write and helm the film, which will be the second anthology film after Gareth Edwards’ Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

John Boyega, who plays Finn in the main Star Wars storyline, was “pumped” for this new casting on social media, while Glover’s directors joined in on the online fun.

“This part rests on very capable shoulders,” Lord tweeted on Friday. “I’m insecure that my cape pun wasn’t clear enough. And I’m equally insecure that I’m exposing my really lame cape pun.” Interacting with reporters on social media, he then joked about the Han Solo film channeling Magic Mike XXL. “I really want to see that version,” Lord wrote.

“This deal’s getting better all the time,” Miller wrote in response to the announcement. “DONALD is an anagram of D LANDO.”

On a more serious note, the directors released a joint statement on Friday, saying, “We’re so lucky to have an artist as talented as Donald join us. These are big shoes to fill, and an even bigger cape, and this one fits him perfectly, which will save us money on alterations. Also, we’d like to publicly apologize to Donald for ruining Comic-Con for him forever.”