Star Wars: It’s time to leave Boba Fett in the sarlacc pit
By Meg Dowell
Fans have been speculating whether or not Boba Fett will make an appearance in The Mandalorian. Jon Favreau thinks it’s time to let that Star Wars fantasy die.
With a new trailer for The Mandalorian finally available to watch on an endless loop until November 12, it’s no surprise speculations about the upcoming Disney+ Star Wars series are running wild.
At D23 this weekend, we learned Ming-Na Wen has joined the cast. We also learned that a certain fan-favorite character won’t be making an appearance at all.
One thing we know for certain: The Mandalorian is definitely not Boba Fett. In fact, Boba Fett won’t be appearing in the series at all.
This comes directly from series creator Jon Favreau, who has been working closely with writer, director, and Star Wars veteran Dave Filoni in developing the series.
Favreau said: “Boba Fett is not one of the all-new original characters.” Well, there you go.
He goes on to remind audiences that the show will touch the largely unexplored gap between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, which has at this point has only been described in the expanded universe (everything outside the films).
There’s a lot of material there, especially with the fall of the Galactic Empire. Favreau doesn’t want to dedicate too much time to characters we’ve already seen on the big screen. And he shouldn’t.
Boba Fett’s Holiday Special debut, and his appearance in the second two films of the Original Trilogy, made him a beloved baddie. He’s everything you want in a villain: ruthless. Mysterious. He has a jetpack!
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Fett is an essential part of the original films and has a small role in the prequels. But it’s time to move on and finally let him go.
In the legends timeline, Boba Fett ended up surviving the sarlacc pit and had his own post-ROTJ storylines throughout some of the books. But there’s really no need to make his survival part of the current timeline — especially in this series.
Favreau and his team should focus on developing new warriors in this era of the galaxy. And fans should do their best to embrace it. Just because your favorite OT characters aren’t the main focus of new Star Wars material doesn’t mean you can’t still go back and enjoy the OT. If you’re not interested in new material, no one’s making you watch it. You don’t have to. That’s the beauty of there being so much Star Wars happening right now.
Boba Fett, like Captain Phasma in the sequel trilogy, pretty much existed in the OT for one specific purpose: to transport Han Solo to Jabba the Hutt. His role in Attack of the Clones and his arc in The Clone Wars were spectacular. But there probably isn’t much more to his story than what we’ve already seen. Especially not in the years following Return of the Jedi.
We’re entering the post-Skywalker era now. It’s time to move on.
Favreau and Filoni (Favloni?) are dedicated to making a Star Wars show that celebrates what they as fans would want to see onscreen. Based on what we’ve seen come out of Filoni’s brain so far, we’re pretty confident The Mandalorian can “feel” like Star Wars even with brand-new characters during a time period we haven’t seen before.
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The first season of The Mandalorian beings November 12.