Lando spin-off! Obi-Wan prequel! 'Star Wars' news to die for

Solo hasn't even hit theaters and yet the momentum behind Donald Glover and his purportedly scene-stealing turn as a younger Lando Calrissian has already inspired its very own spin-off. As a longtime fanboy of the Calrissian character, this is thrilling news -- as as a champion of seeing more diversity in leading roles in blockbusters -- this is also very welcome news.

It comes on the heels of Glover's breakout hit, politically-charged song "This Is America." Needless to say, he's having a moment right now.

Of course, this resurgence of interest in Calrissian has me really hopeful that Billy Dee Williams will finally get his due and appear in the final installment of the Rey-Finn-Poe trilogy, which should be concluding sometime next year.

Williams, who is 81 now, has long made his eagerness to play the character again known, and his lack of inclusion in both The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi were terrible omissions. Both movies had roles that could have gone to Williams (parts eventually filled by Lupita Nyong'o and Benicio Del Toro) and the claim of director Rian Johnson that he 'wanted' to include Lando only has added insult to injury.

Lando was always a character that was ripe for more exploration, and while I'm excited to see how Glover develops the character (which one of the Solo writers has now deemed pansexual) -- I also think it'd be interesting to see what Williams does with him now.

If nothing else, I fully expect this spin-off to provide a cinematic realization of the Battle of Taanab!

Meanwhile, there was even more exciting news! A long rumored 'Adventures of Obi-Wan'-type prequel appears to be definitely happening.

That film -- which hopefully/ideally will star Ewan McGregor again as the aging jedi -- will serve as a bridge between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. There are a number of reasons why this is very intriguing.

All of the elements that gave a nod to A New Hope were the strongest elements of Revenge of the Sith. While I am a not a fan of the prequel trilogy at all -- I do think McGregor consistently did some of the best acting in them, even if the material frequently let him down. He's obviously a very good actor and seems willing and ready to reprise the role, if for no other reason, it'll give him an opportunity to play the part liberated from George Lucas' control.

McGregor famously chafed at Lucas' dispassionate style of filmmaking and since this new film is supposedly being helmed by Stephen Daldry (which is a weird choice), so it should have a very different feel and tone than the three films he'd appeared in previously.

Also, at 47, McGregor can play an older wiser Obi-Wan, who Alec Guinness captured so hauntingly in A New Hope. There are still so many fascinating questions about that character's backstory:  How did he come to be known as Ben Kenobi? Why did he earn a reputation as being a weird old hermit. Clearly, he has a reputation because Luke Skywalker has heard of him before even met -- that's intriguing.

Both of these projects have the potential to be incredible wish fulfillment for the fans but also an opportunity to do something totally new in terms of the series' form -- for instance, Donald Glover has already suggested that his Lando film could be a kind of space-based Catch Me If You Can, which could be brilliant. And the Obi-Wan film could be something more akin to a western.

I'm not among the detractors of The Last Jedi -- I actually enjoy it more every time I think about it -- but for those who are anxious about where Disney is steering the Star Wars ship, these two spin-offs should be a welcome surprise.