The Book of Boba Fett Preview
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Streaming now, on Disney+
SOME SPOILERS AHEAD
One of the most disappointing deaths on the big or small screen undoubtedly was the apparent demise of the galaxy’s most feared bounty hunter Boba Fett in 1983’s Return of the Jedi. The way Fett met his fate was incredibly unworthy of a galactic mercenary. A dazed and groggy Han Solo, who had just emerged from being frozen in carbonite, struck Fett’s rocket pack during Princess Leia’s rescue on the sand barge and sent him to his doom in the monstrous Sarlacc pit, or so we thought. Fast forward to 2019. Disney+ has become the premier streaming service and has given Star Wars executive producers such as mastermind Dave Filoni a blank canvas and a galaxy of resources (AKA a Jabba sized pile of money) to tell whatever story they want. Season 1 and 2 of The Mandorlorian proved that gameplan was a successful one. Audiences loved it and wanted more. The forward march for Disney was to tell stories Star Wars fans wanted to hear and ones they could, especially of Boba Fett who was criminally cut down far too early in the original Star Wars trilogy.
Fett’s return was teased in season 1 however he was confirmed in season 2 and we saw a healthy amount of Boba in season two of The Mandolorian. Boba (Temura Morrison) rescued fellow bounty hunter Fennic Shand (Ming-Na Wen) after her failed assassination of Mando (Pedro Pascal). Fennic now serves Boba exclusively to repay her debt and they are a formidable duo. Expect to see how their dynamic grows in The Book of Boba Fett. Boba and Fennic help Mando retrieve Grogu (Baby Yoda) from Imperial Moff Gideon in season 2 of The Mandalorian. This act of assistance by Boba repays his debt to Mando for giving him his original armor back that was somehow lost when Boba fell into the pit in Return of the Jedi. And yes, don’t worry his armor is still as cool as it was back in the day as Boba’s armor has been touched up with a fresh coat of paint.
In a sizzling end credits sequence in Mandalorian season 2, Boba and Fennic return to Jabba the Hutt’s palace and seize the throne that Jabba once claimed. Boba turns and stares into the camera and the screen goes blank. This episode originally aired in December of 2020 and the announcement of a Boba Fett series took viewers by surprise everywhere. Lifelong Star Wars fans finally get a Boba Fett story that has much to explore. Will we see more backstory into the bounty hunter world? Will there be tie-ins to season 3 of The Mandolorian? Will Boba get revenge on the Sarlacc? On December 29 th we will know soon enough. In The Book of Boba Fett trailer, Boba declares he intends to rule with respect as the slain Jabba ruled with fear. Perhaps an anti-hero tale like Breaking Bad will be the motif for this highly anticipated series.
In 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back, a memorable scene of Imperial admirals criticizing bounty hunters comes to mind. As Darth Vader assembled a group of bounty hunters to track down Han Solo (Boba present of course), one of the admirals says to another “Bounty hunters! We don’t need those scum!” Actually, Yes. We do need these bounty hunters. Especially ones that will take us into the next phase of epic storytelling into a galaxy far far away, or at least in our living rooms.
Hype Score | 10/10
