Temuera Morrison and Ming-Na Wen respond to Book of Boba Fett controversy
By Meg Dowell
As with most Star Wars content, some fans love The Book of Boba Fett. Some don’t. And then there are those who love it, but have criticisms about certain aspects of the series they want to see Star Wars in general do better. The fate of the Tusken Raiders in Chapter 3 quickly sent waves through the fan community, especially among members of Indigenous groups.
The Book of Boba Fett.stars Temuera Morrison and Ming-Na Wen spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about Star Wars fans’ reactions to the brutal mass deaths portrayed in Chapter 3, “The Streets of Mos Espa.”
Morrison spoke about using his own real-life experiences to add depth to the Tusken Raiders storyline.
"Tthey are the Indigenous of the sands of Tatooine, and I was creating a little bit more history about their own culture — and I was pulling from my own culture, in a way, in terms of the ceremonies and preparing the warrior and preparing a weapon. And Boba has never experienced a real family before — with the young Tuskens and the old Tuskens — and protecting their land."
Ming-Na Wen, who has been a lifelong Star Wars fan, touched on the parallels that can be drawn between the deaths of the Tuskens in The Book of Boba Fett and the deaths on Tatooine portrayed in A New Hope back in 1977.
"We knew so little about the Tuskens, and [the show] really gave them an incredible backstory. … I thought all those elements really enrich who the Tuskens are, … and [setting the bodies on fire] was part of Star Wars, with A New Hope, whether it’s the Jawas, when they were attacked, there is this ceremonious desire on Tatooine to burn the bodies as opposed to letting them lie out in the open in the desert."
The interview also touches on some fans’ distaste with the look of the biker gang Boba hires in the episode, giving Wen another opportunity to show her strong knowledge of a galaxy far, far away and compare the gang to previous Star Wars projects.
Despite strong storytelling reasons for portraying the fall of the Dune Sea tribe in such a violent way, many fans are still speaking out about their feelings. It’s still important to listen to their concerns and acknowledge that just because you don’t view Star Wars through the same lens as others doesn’t mean others’ voices matter less than yours.
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The Book of Boba Fett is streaming now exclusively on Disney+.