When it comes to Star Wars, the delicate art of the guest appearance has become a line most expertly walked. It’s very easy to take a familiar character, bring them into a story with the hopes of enhancing it, and end up having that character overshadow everything — not in a good way. But Star Wars has gotten pretty good at making Leia’s Rebels episode and The Mandalorian‘s Ahsoka appearance both exciting and purposeful without derailing the plot. Which means it may be the perfect time to bring Doctor Aphra out of the comics and into live-action for the first time.
Star Wars fans have been waiting for Doctor Aphra to transcend the panels of Marvel comics since her debut in 2015’s Darth Vader comic. She did make her way into the audio realm in 2020 when Penguin Random House Audio released an audio drama based on her early canon Star Wars appearances. But she has yet to appear in a TV series either animated or live-action.
The Book of Boba Fett could change that thanks to the recent appearance of a never-before-seen-on-screen Wookiee. Black Krrsantan’s appearance in The Book of Boba Fett Chapter 2 is the gateway more comic book original characters needed to spring onto the small screen for the first (and hopefully not the last) time.
Doctor Aphra in particular has grown immensely in popularity since her debut in the comics. The marginalized representation she brings to the franchise has won Star Wars a GLAAD Award, and overall, she’s the Star Wars-Indiana Jones hybrid that makes for great adventures. The comics are the ideal place for her antics, sarcasm, and delightfully over-exaggerated wit. But brought into a Disney+ show like Book of Boba, she could prove either a dangerous asset to Fett … or a treacherous antagonist.
Or both. Aphra has been known to switch sides based on what’s most convenient for her in the moment.
There’s no guarantee we’ll see Aphra on screen — we could just hear her mentioned by name, similar to Grand Admiral Thrawn’s mention in The Mandalorian season 2. But seeing her character transition even that way into live-action Star Wars wouldn’t just be a first — it would also be exceptionally thrilling for comic book fans who have loved her character for years.
Based on what we’ve seen in The Book of Boba Fett so far … just about anything is possible.
The Book of Boba Fett is streaming now on Disney+.