Since the release of Star Wars’ “The Empire Strikes Back” in 1980, fans yearned to see more of the masked, scummy and villainous bounty hunter by the name of Boba Fett. His subsequent “death” in the ending of the original trilogy, “Return of the Jedi,” left the entire Star Wars fandom (at the time) disappointed — the character they fell in love with in only a few minutes of screen time turned out to be a throwaway piece to the Star Wars puzzle. Many theories and stories about how Fett escaped Jabba the Hutt’s Sarlacc Pit emerged, but when Disney purchased Star Wars, they were all deemed to be non-canon.
Boba Fett fans were tortured for four entire decades with very few moments of the character’s badassery. His survival was deemed non-canon, and the solo Boba Fett movie that fans begged for ultimately had little to no hope. However, that all changed when the infamous man “just trying to make his way through the galaxy” found his way to the forefront of the second season of the hit Disney+ series, “The Mandalorian.”
After 40 years, Disney made Boba Fett’s survival official. With grace and explosions, the character made his return to the Star Wars universe in style; he took his famous Mandalorian armor back and proceeded to fight off hordes of Stormtroopers trying to capture Grogu. The post-credit scene from the last episode of “The Mandalorian” confirmed that future Boba Fett stories would occur, since he killed his way to the throne of Tatooine. “The Book of Boba Fett” splashed onto the screen, and fans waited once more for the series to come. That day is finally here.
The trailer for “The Book of Boba Fett” recently dropped, and the excitement from fans erupted. Not only did the trailer reveal the show’s premise, but it also set the overall gritty, serious and underworld tone to the series. The focus of the show seems to be solely on the scum and villainy of Tatooine, where Star Wars fans will get to see the true depth of the wretched hive of Star Wars’ underworld. While the show creators are keeping most of the secrets of the story hidden, fans can expect to see a lot more from this series.
While the trailer shows Boba Fett picking up where he left off from “The Mandalorian,” director Robert Rodriguez previously commented that this series will reveal some of Boba Fett’s history as well. Fans will certainly be seeing a bit more detailed of an origin story for the character, and perhaps we’ll even find out how he emerged from the Sarlacc Pit alive.
Fans can definitely expect to see some of their other favorite, notorious bounty hunters from a galaxy far, far away. Legendary assassin Fennec Shand is already confirmed as a main character, but expect to see some other ruthless warriors in Boba Fett’s circle as well. Boba Fett’s first — and perhaps most iconic — appearance came in “The Empire Strikes Back.” None other than Darth Vader himself convened the character and a group of bounty hunters to track down the Millennium Falcon. These bounty hunters included IG-88, Bossk, 4-LOM, Zuckuss, and Boba Fett’s old friend Dengar. Additionally, in recent years, “The Clone Wars” revealed that fan-favorite character Cad Bane gave Fett the famous dent in his helmet. These events and backstories all help reveal why these characters pay a visit to Tatooine’s new underworld king, Boba Fett.
Din Djarin, more famously known as The Mandalorian, has long been rumored to be a part of this series as well. “Mando” and Boba Fett were a terrific duo in their short time together, and with Disney building a universe around all these characters, it’s safe to say that fans will be seeing this tag team reunite. As some of the only Mandalorians left in the galaxy, they may be the only ones who have each other’s backs in this time of disarray. Disney is clearly building up to something big with the announcement of 10+ new Disney+ series; what better way to continue the story than to bring two main characters back for a mission or two?
Many other mysterious things lurk in the shadows during this time period in the Star Wars universe. People often forget that Boba Fett is also the last clone trooper around, and with all the talk about cloning in Star Wars these days, this could be important in the series. Also, prior to his introduction in “The Mandalorian,” the last anyone saw of Boba Fett was in “The Clone Wars.” At the time, he was just a kid who was hell-bent on killing Jedi. With the lack of any true antagonist in the trailer, there could be an appearance of Fett’s obsession with killing Jedi in this show. After all, he still owes Han Solo and Luke Skywalker a blaster bolt or two.
Fett’s reputation as a merciless, villainous figure around the galaxy may also be challenged. In previous adaptations of the character, he leaned more toward his dark side than his heroic side. However, he seems to have a refined sense of morality in “The Mandalorian.” His villainous ways will either return or be redeemed by his heroics throughout the show.
“The Book of Boba Fett” quite literally has 40+ years of hype behind it. Finally, the millions upon millions of Star Wars fans across the globe get to truly see what the biggest, baddest bounty hunter is all about. Expect excitement, chaos and characters old and new. But most of all, expect the true scope of Boba Fett’s character and the brooding, raw underworld of Star Wars. The series’s first episode will be released on Dec. 29 on Disney+. I can only hope you will take the time to open and read “The Book of Boba Fett.”
