Billy Dee Williams on Should We Expect him Back in Star Wars: Episode VIII

LandoCalrissianStar Wars: Episode VIII starts filming in just a couple of weeks time. Many people were wondering if we’re going to see another familiar face returning to the galaxy far, far away. Actor Billy Dee Williams sheds some light on the question, should we expect Lando Clarissian back in Episode VIII?

 

The guys from the Dutch site StarWarsAwakens managed to speak with Billy Dee Williams and here’s what he said.

 

From StarWarsAwakens.nl:

Mr. Williams, unfortunately you didn’t return as Lando in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Can you tell what the reason for this is? And will you be back for Episode VIII?

I do not know the reason. I think the character of Lando just didn’t fit into the story line. I saw the movie and loved it and can see why Lando wasn’t in it. If they asked me to come back for Episode VIII I would love to do it but right now I have not been asked and I do not know their plans.

 

Lando

You did return as Lando in Star Wars: Rebels, the animated TV series. What was it like to return to the Star Wars franchise after so many years?

I would love to return to Rebels! I had a blast doing it! It was great bringing Lando back to the franchise. Lando is very dear to my heart and I cannot see anyone else playing him or voicing him.

Williams also spoke about his memories filming The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. For the full interview go to StarWarsAwakens.nl

 

 

As you know Lando Calrissian first appeared in the second movie of the original trilogy – Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. Since Lando was nowhere to be seen in The Force Awakens, many people assumed that he will return for Episode VIII in a similar fashion.

 

Although Williams is 78, he showed last year that he still has what it takes, appearing on “Dancing with the Stars“.

Lando

 

Recently Lucasfilm made it clear that Lando is an important character in the new Star Wars canon. First the smooth talking smuggler appeared on the Star Wars: Rebels show, and later he got a whole comic series dedicated just to him.

Lando Sabacc

Now the big question is will Lando make his big comeback on the big screen or will he continue to exist in separate canon material. There is enough time for Rian Johnson and the casting director to contact him for Episode VIII, or maybe he will return for the culmination in Episode IX?

 

I do hope we will see him on the big screen rather sooner than later. What do you think? Do you want to see Lando back on the big screen? Please vote below:

 

 

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Founder of SWNN, MNN and The Cantina forums.

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Founder of SWNN, MNN and The Cantina forums.Born on April 24, 1980.

85 thoughts on “Billy Dee Williams on Should We Expect him Back in Star Wars: Episode VIII

  • December 29, 2015 at 6:42 pm
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    I see him as some sort of crime leader to appear in episode VIII
    for some reason

    • December 29, 2015 at 10:12 pm
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      Perhaps some relatives of the Guavian Death Gang and the Kanjiklub gang will team up to find Chewbacca and his “gang” for some payback.

  • December 29, 2015 at 6:46 pm
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    I like the character of Lando a lot. If they could put him into the movie in a minor role, I’d love it!

    That said, his voice acting in his episode of Rebels disappointed me. I knew beforehand that it was Williams’ voice, and perhaps my focus on that fact detracted some from my perception of his performance, but I can’t shake the fact that he didn’t really sound the same as he did in Empire or Jedi.

    It would probably be worth the “risk” to get him in there though, at least from my own (fan) perspective. He won’t be a major character, regardless of his involvement in the film – why not give him a shot? I doubt even a terribly-acted Lando could ruin the film, and I doubt his performance would be “terrible”.

    • December 30, 2015 at 2:24 am
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      Still better than Carrie in any of her TFA scenes though.

  • December 29, 2015 at 6:56 pm
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    Among other things, I would love to see Lando show Finn how to be cool. Build on his confidence and learn some swagger.

    • December 29, 2015 at 8:05 pm
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      with lando’s help finn might have a chance with rey after all. 😉

  • December 29, 2015 at 7:09 pm
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    I really really hope that most fans are not hoping for a complete mirroring of the trilogy. the only reason it’s being spoken about if Lando is in it is it’s the Empire of the new ones. I really hope not. I hope it’s completely different.

    I love Force Awakens, and I can forgive it for its setting the scene – parrallels with A new hope, but this can’t continue throughout the trilogy.

    I don’t want to see Lando Calrissian to be honest, especially not in VIII, it is was in IX and a small small role It might be forgiven, but at this current time it feels like people are finding ways of completely mirroring the OT.

    • December 30, 2015 at 2:23 am
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      The writers fault. I mean we already sorta know that……

      Rey will be likely be trained by Luke on a hidden planet

      Kylo will be obsssessed with finding her

      There’s going to be a new love story subplot

      The Resistance needs a new base

      And so on.

  • December 29, 2015 at 7:13 pm
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    There’s no reason not to bring him back..
    The strory would make a lot of sense having Lando wanting to take revenge for his friend’s death.

  • December 29, 2015 at 7:16 pm
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    I hope he’s not in it. focus on the new characters and one last hurrah with Luke.

    the OT characters are handcuffing the writers

    • December 29, 2015 at 7:54 pm
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      Yeah that’s why I stopped reading the EU – always wasted pages upon pages of updates on the old people when they had worthy characters to explore exclusively.

      The fact we have cool characters with so many directions to go in is a huge credit to TFA and they really should feel comfortable moving forward with those characters.

  • December 29, 2015 at 7:28 pm
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    It would make sense to bring him back. Let him own some large casino planet. But turning his back to it when he hears the news about Han’s death

  • December 29, 2015 at 7:29 pm
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    Too many oldies already! Even Chewbacca wasn’t really played by Peter Mayhew because he’s too old! And we’ve got Finn, he’s a cooler, more modern Lando! 😀

    • December 29, 2015 at 8:02 pm
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      yes, yes, but image a scene with boyega and billy dee on screen together! i’m not sure we’re ready for such awesomeness. 🙂

      • December 29, 2015 at 8:28 pm
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        Lando: You tapped that didn’t you?
        Finn: Rey is my friend
        Lando: Yeah but you wanted to
        Finn: yes

  • December 29, 2015 at 7:34 pm
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    I hope he will be in it,and to have role as Poe in episode 7. He could have new rebel army,and he could come at the end to help The Resistance,I would love to see that

    • December 29, 2015 at 8:01 pm
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      i bet lando did the same thing han did and went back to his old ways. but he could still help with money and/or a place to hide out from the space nazis.

  • December 29, 2015 at 7:47 pm
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    Would love for Lando to return. As long as he’s unrelated to any of the new characters. Regarding Episode VIII, I think Leia will get similar screen time as she got for TFA, and this will continue for Episode IX. Luke will obviously fill the story as much as Han did in TFA.

  • December 29, 2015 at 7:54 pm
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    I am actually hoping Gugu Mbatha Raw is playing Lando’s daughter ( and new female hero ) in Ep 8. She’d be great for romance storyline with Poe Dameron.

    • December 29, 2015 at 7:56 pm
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      That would be cool. She could be a lot like her father.

    • December 29, 2015 at 8:04 pm
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      You know who’d be even better in a romantic storyline with Poe Dameron? FINN!!!

      • December 29, 2015 at 10:29 pm
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        Let’s no go in that direction yet (it’s too soon). Personally I’m not against that lifestyle but remember that Star Wars is worldwide, and if a risk like that is executed, that may be a little too much for the world right now (yes, I know that certain areas and societies are more tolerable of this type of thing but the fact of the matter is that on a worldwide scale, that’s still not enough for a relationship like this to be “universally accepted” and significant backlash can occur); go and look at some of the reviews of the Aftermath book and you’ll see what I mean.

      • December 30, 2015 at 2:20 am
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        They did have chemistry, Moreso than Hayden and Natalie.

      • January 5, 2016 at 8:57 am
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        Nah Finn seems into Rey, asking her if she has a cute boyfriend and trying hard to impress her. But they can still have a bromance for the ages like frodo and sam in LOTR

  • December 29, 2015 at 7:56 pm
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    let’s give Lando a few book’s then have Ben solo kill him as his first act of evil, cover it up so know one ever finds out other than the audience.

  • December 29, 2015 at 7:58 pm
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    give billy dee a scene or two, especially with what happened to han.

  • December 29, 2015 at 8:26 pm
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    Personally, I think they should concentrate on creating brand new characters. It’s a great big galaxy out there.

  • December 29, 2015 at 8:26 pm
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    Bring back Lando !!!!

  • December 29, 2015 at 8:27 pm
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    I have absolutely no desire to see Lando in Episode 8, or any future episodes.

  • December 29, 2015 at 8:42 pm
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    It would be cool to see Lando in the new trilogy in a small, but significant role. It doesn’t have to be Episode VIII, he could be in the finale. I would like to see him react to Han’s death.

  • December 29, 2015 at 9:13 pm
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    If anyone saw BDW on dancing with the stars, he doesn’t move well or even walk well anymore. He would have to have a minor role in Episode 8. He might be better served just doing voiceover work for Rebels at this point.

  • December 29, 2015 at 9:35 pm
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    Would love to see him make at least an appearance especially after the events of TFA.

    • December 29, 2015 at 10:56 pm
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      I agree! A Lando and Han reunion would be gr…oh…crap…

  • December 29, 2015 at 9:53 pm
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    Where’s the damn Han’s funeral scene with Lando cameo?? Unfair.

  • December 29, 2015 at 10:18 pm
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    I love Lando, but I would be more than happy to have him sit out this new trilogy. A focus on the new characters’ development is better than shoehorning old characters into the story just for the sake of it. C3PO in the middle of the Clone Wars anybody?

    • December 29, 2015 at 10:58 pm
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      Actually Star Wars is supposed to be seen through the eyes of R2-D2 and C3PO so not having them in it would be dumb.

      • December 30, 2015 at 10:54 am
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        well JJ screwed that idea in TFA by virtually eliminating them from the plot and a movie, so i guess there it goes… which is a shame since it was such a nice idea and it worked seamlessly in other 6 movies

        • December 31, 2015 at 8:44 am
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          The droids as “POV” was not critical to the overall story structure. In other words it was not confusing or a shock when either R2 or 3PO were not present when Luke confronted the Emperor and Vader on the Death Star in ROTJ.

      • December 31, 2015 at 8:46 am
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        Meh, I disagree. Their POV is not critical to the big picture, especially for six films. See comment below.

  • December 29, 2015 at 10:21 pm
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    I think Lando shoudl come back and finally get the opportunity to move in on Leia.

  • December 29, 2015 at 10:30 pm
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    I think Lando should be the galactic President. It would give his character a really great story arc over the course of the series… from gambler, to politician & scumbag who sold out his best friend, on to General of the Rebel Alliance and then President of the New Republic.

    • December 30, 2015 at 7:31 am
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      Hey hey, everybody knows to be president you have to be a scoundrel and a scumbag

  • December 29, 2015 at 11:55 pm
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    I really think Lando should’ve had the Max Von Sydow role in the opening of the TFA to be one to hand off the map to Poe. With Sydow its confusing to the average viewer wondering “Is this a character I’m supposed to know?” “How does this guy fit in with Luke and Leia?” If it were Lando it would make perfect sense without any confusion. He’s already established. It would be cool to see Billy Dee Williams confront Kylo Ren about knowing his family ties etc. It really wouldn’t need a single change of dialogue just switch out the characters. Plus Lando dying in the opening would carry more weight than some random new character. If they had done that then we would get a Lando cameo and it not feel tacked on. It would actually drive the story. Thoughts?

    • December 30, 2015 at 12:26 am
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      Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

      Killing Lando in the first scene would have probably been a rocky start for the audience, and we would have been asking: “Why’d you shoehorn him in there if he was just going to die?”

      • December 30, 2015 at 7:29 am
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        Yup, you have Anakin turn to the dark side and slaughter the Jedi in ep 1, people complain about not seeing enough Jedi. You have Anikan turn to the dark side and slaughter Jedi in ep 3, people complain we didn’t see enough Jedi slaughter

    • December 30, 2015 at 2:39 am
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      cool idea!

    • December 30, 2015 at 11:59 pm
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      Some of the fan ideas are better than what they came up with

    • January 5, 2016 at 8:55 am
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      neat idea, but I don’t think people could handle Han and lando dying in the same film. Plus you wouldn’t even get a moment to greive. A beloved character would get cut down and we would just move on to Poe joking? It would be a disservice to the character. Plus Lando’s voice just dosn’t have the gravitas of a Max Von Sydow

  • December 30, 2015 at 1:20 am
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    Make him a wealthy entrepenuer that Leia must go to for funds for her cause.

  • December 30, 2015 at 1:40 am
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    Kasdan said Lando would be returning, so at least ,the character will play a role in Han Solo movie.

  • December 30, 2015 at 2:18 am
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    I would have liked him in the Maz role honestly. Her force abilities didn’t add much to that scene, That castle looked like a place he’d run, and it’s more convincing that Lobot would have grabbed the lightsaber while evacuating Cloud City than some random alien would.

    • December 30, 2015 at 4:08 am
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      You bring up a possibility to consider: Maybe it was Lando or Lobot who later recovered Luke’s saber. This explanation could be tied into an appearance by either character in Episode 8 or 9.

      • December 30, 2015 at 4:52 am
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        I blame it on those sneaky little Ugnaughts. One of them found it in a vent and sold it for easy cash.

        • December 31, 2015 at 5:22 am
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          Guess they found the Emperor too. Must have really sucked for whomever had to mop up the floor that night.

      • December 30, 2015 at 12:00 pm
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        It would be cool to see John Hollis back in the role too like Ackbar in this one, Assuming he’s still alive.

        • December 30, 2015 at 9:02 pm
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          John Hollis is dead. Died in 2006 I think.

          • December 30, 2015 at 11:58 pm
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            And we were speculating MVS was an older Lobot ..ha !

          • December 31, 2015 at 2:42 pm
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            his cybernetic implant couldn’t have been removed without killing him so he wouldn’t have gotten to that ripe old age.

          • December 31, 2015 at 12:49 pm
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            Well that sucks. I’d like to see General Madine back instead then.

          • December 31, 2015 at 2:39 pm
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            yeah Dermot Crowley is most definitely still alive and still a busy actor. I think he’s a regular on Idris Elba’s LUTHER.

          • January 1, 2016 at 10:58 am
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            I guess it depends on his TV schedule. How about Bruce Boa? I always liked him in Empire.

          • January 1, 2016 at 5:12 pm
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            died in 2004 🙁

          • January 2, 2016 at 12:37 pm
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            Should have figured. I heard Caroline Blakiston is still alive and working so they should get her.

  • December 30, 2015 at 6:13 am
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    It would be nice for at least a small cameo. Maybe he is a leader of a new planet. Leia calls out to him for assistace…He sends a small fleet or troops to assist the resistance.

  • December 30, 2015 at 9:51 am
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    I would like a lands camero in the next movie. I should think they can figure out a way to address him. Maybe Leia needs some of his mining ships or something to help the resistance. I mean they brought back nien numb!

  • December 30, 2015 at 1:20 pm
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    And it will be revealed that Jar Jar found the lightsaber…

    • December 30, 2015 at 11:57 pm
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      Ani meesa found it !

  • December 30, 2015 at 9:02 pm
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    Yes, Lando needs to be in Episode 8 and I’ll be pissed off if he’s not.

  • December 30, 2015 at 9:08 pm
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    I don’t see how the character can still be relevant in the new story other than “Let’s go to an old friend of the resistance” thing, which I hate. Leave him out of it. Fan service is just the worst. The best service you can do to fans is a new good story that lasts rather than having them say “oh look it’s that guy” for 5 seconds.

    • January 3, 2016 at 7:27 pm
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      That’s kind of the thing with Maz, so he would of been better suited in that role for TFA

    • January 4, 2016 at 8:30 pm
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      I disagree. The old cast will be phased out, but with the EU gone, it’s nice to see what they’ve been up to after Ep 6. We will get plenty of Star Wars in the future, these are some of the last chances for the original cast.

    • January 5, 2016 at 8:48 am
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      I agree that its a bad idea to force him into the story, but I see him fitting quite naturally. With the republic destroyed and han dead, the resistance REALLY needs some good generals. In the books Leia begged ackbar to come out of retirement to help them. I can easily see the same with Lando. They need him as a General. Heck even if they just wanted to have a funeral for Han and have him attend it or have him appear in a hologram aiding the rebuilding of the republic. Fanservice is bad when it derails the story for the sake of a cameo, but sometimes it just makes sense to have certain characters around, particularly when its a small part that blends into the plot.

  • December 31, 2015 at 5:18 am
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    Strange conincedence, Billy D’s grandson sort of favours Jake Lloyd…….and his name is “Finn”

  • December 31, 2015 at 5:19 am
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    Strange coincidence. Bill D’s grandson kind of favours Jake Lyoyd, and his name is……..”Finn”

  • December 31, 2015 at 5:20 am
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    Bring back Lando!

  • December 31, 2015 at 2:01 pm
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    Please bring Lando back. It was fine he wasnt in EP 7, but we want him back now!!

  • December 31, 2015 at 9:15 pm
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    While VII was in development, I was really hoping that Billy D would be back. Thankfully he is in Rebels. I always loved Lando.

  • January 10, 2016 at 5:41 am
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    BRING BACK LANDO!! If there is a funeral for Solo then Lando needs to, at the very least, make a cameo. He should be an informer for the resistance

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