There are plenty of things to get excited about when it comes to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, not the least of which is the reunion aspect of the film. We're getting new characters, a new story and a new director helming it all this time around, but we're also getting something we thought we'd never see: the return of the original cast, including Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Peter Mayhew, Anthony Daniels and more. Sadly, the Force Awakens reunion does not include Billy Dee Williams, who played the suave fan favorite Lando Calrissian in two of the original trilogy films, and played a major role in destroying the second Death Star in Return of the Jedi.

Williams told our own Jeff Spry last year that he'd heard nothing about participating in The Force Awakens, and unless he's hiding behind some massive J.J. Abrams Mystery Box that includes repeatedly saying he's not involved, that seems to still be the case. Williams is still playing Lando, though, providing the voice for the character on Disney's Star Wars Rebels animated series, and in a recent interview he hinted that he one day might do more than that. Here's how Williams replied when asked about the new films by Cinelinx.

"Yeah, people were pretty upset about it. But I uh...I may very well...I have a feeling I’m going to show up," he said. "There’s nothing I can really discuss about it at this stage. "People think of me as the original cast, but I didn’t come in until the second movie. I did Empire and then I did Return of the Jedi, but I came in after everyone else was introduced...So I think they’re probably proceeding in that way. "I can’t imagine them not bringing Lando back. But we’ll see, I don’t know."

The Cinelinx interview notes that when Williams talks about showing up, he seems to be referring to the new trilogy as a whole, not The Force Awakens. His "at this stage" remark makes it sound like he's perhaps had a conversation with someone at Disney about a return, though we can't say for sure. What we do know for sure, though, is that Williams remains very attached to this character, and as long as he's optimistic about returning Lando and his sweet cape to the big screen, we are too.

What do you think? Will Lando make it back sometime during the new Star Wars trilogy?

(Via Cinelinx)