Good call on keeping the Lando scene. I understand wanting to cut all of the exposition, but some of it is necessary. It’s also our only actual introduction to him, and without it, his role feels even more forced.

However, I think cutting out the whole exchange between Lando and Rey about “sending Leia his love” would work. It’s never picked up on again, and Lando never interacts with Leia on-screen. Also, when Rey tells him “you can give it to her yourself”, Lando looks like he’s thinking about what Rey just said, and then we move to the next scene. It felt like Lando was dodging his responsibilities, which is also never brought up again. Anyway, I think it would work if Rey said her line about “needing pilots”, and we saw Lando’s reaction of considering what she just said, and then the next scene. There’s some emphasis now on him scrounging up enough ships to take down the First Order, even if it’s just one line.