Star Wars: 20 Things You Didn't Know About The Last Jedi
12. The DJ Character Was Almost Lando Calrissian
Benicio del Toro has a small but vital role in the film as DJ, an underworld codebreaker who ends up double-crossing the Resistance to General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson) in order to win his own freedom.
In the early scripting stages, however, the role was actually written for Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams), but Rian Johnson ultimately decided to reinvent the part as an entirely new character because he didn't want to have Lando categorically betray the heroes.
Lando's certainly no stranger to subterfuge or looking out for number one, but at least he usually does the right thing in the end. DJ, on the other hand, never gets his redeeming moment and effectively just disappears out of the story after turning on Finn (John Boyega) and Rose.
Lando of course finally returned to the franchise in The Rise of Skywalker, albeit only in piecemeal, strictly fan-serving capacity.