I myself am notoriously indifferent* to the character, but I doubt this means we’ve seen the end of him – the Fetts did get namechecked in our very first official dispatch re: The Mandalorian, after all. And even if Boba doesn’t get freed from his sand-ridden digestive grave in the new canon, the fact that we actually have a show called The Mandalorian coming is a pretty definitive testament to the character’s influence and legacy.
* Okay, I’ve been pretty much sick of the dude since, oh, 1996.
In Jon Favreau’s latest snaps from the set of The Mandalorian, he shares two props that might look familiar. The first is an ice cream machine, which you may remember from The Empire Stikes Back, or perhaps the traditional Running of the Hoods. The other is a tad more obscure (well, as obscure as anything Star Wars really gets – it’s an Amban phase-pulse blaster (or something inspired by it) that originates with the first appearance of Boba Fett in the Star Wars Holiday Special.
Who wields these objects – if they even end up as anything beyond scenery – is yet to be seen, but neither Willrow Hood nor Boba Fett are entirely out of the question.
This week’s standalone rumor has Logan’s James Mangold writing and directing a Star Wars standalone featuring Boba Fett. This is from The Hollywood Reporter and quickly doubled down by Variety – both industry trades, aka pros – so their sources are likely fairly solid.
But overall, there’s not really that much to say right now about the future. Because even Lucasfilm isn’t sure yet:
“There are [possible movies] that we have been talking a lot about,” Kennedy says. “But we are planning to sit down in January, since we will have had The Force Awakens released, now Rogue One, and we’ve finished shooting Episode VIII. We have enough information where we can step back a little bit and say, What are we doing? What do we feel is exciting? And what are some of the things we want to explore?”
It’s certainly an interesting question. I doubt we’ll be waiting 10 years for Episode X, but how long should they wait? Will the fanbase stand for an uninterrupted string of non-Episode films?
And which standalones? Perhaps the most interesting parts of this piece look back. First, it confirms the long-standing rumors that Josh Trank’s canceled standalone was about Boba Fett. (Ugh.) They even had a teaser reel ready to show us at Celebration Anaheim in spring 2015. A Fett film still might happen – Breznican calls it “backburnered” – but it’ll no doubt have to wait until the right director comes along. (And yes, the possibility of an Obi-Wan Kenobi film is mentioned. Again, Lucasfilm knows you want it.)
Secondly, Kennedy also mentions that the idea for the Han Solo standalone wasn’t one that George Lucas mentioned as a spinoff. We’ve previously heard otherwise, which makes me wonder if the original idea came from George in a different context, like the never-produced live-action series. (After all, Saw Gerrera made the jump from there to The Clone Wars to Rogue One – why not a major character like Han?)
In another article, this time at Variety, Kennedy talks about some of the Han film’s inspirations:
“This moves closer to a heist or Western type feel,” says Kennedy. “We’ve talked about [Frederic] Remington and those primary colors that are used in his paintings defining the look and feel of the film.”
She also talks about her desire to bring in more women to direct Star Wars films.
“We want to make sure that when we bring a female director in to do “Star Wars,” they’re set up for success,” says Kennedy. “They’re gigantic films, and you can’t come into them with essentially no experience.”
Today’s contender is courtesy of The Wrap, who’s claiming that the second anthology movie – the one Josh Trank is no longer directing – will be “a Boba Fett origin story.” (Wait, is it Attack of the Clones? Again? In 3D?)
Of course, this is far from our first Boba Fett rumor. He’s been a frequentsubject since the standalone films were announced, including a recent one that claimed ‘Boba Fett’ will turn out to be a Dread Pirate Roberts-like figure, passing the name from the original clone onto others. The Wrap is a far more trustworthy source than many, and Out Like A Chump: The Boba Fett Story may seem inevitable, but only time will tell if any of these rumors pan out.
Rumor: Who could play Boba Fett? Some random site thinks Michael Fassbender is the “frontrunner to be Boba Fett,” because Boba Fett is the Dread Pirate Roberts now. Yeah… Sure. Okay.
Making Star Wars says the Executive Breakfast did indeed happen this morning, and one subject of discussion was a Boba Fett spinoff film, which may be inevitable but isn’t apparently as straightforward as one would expect.
The problem, apparently? Making Fett into a film hero while maintaining his ‘menace.’ And presumably keeping things PG-13 at the most, Disney being Disney.
Honestly, the less I say about this the better, so, uh, take it away, commentators.
Has Jeremy Bulloch been asked to appear in… Something? Calling it now: He’s totally playing the Mayor of Sernpidal in his spin-off movie. But seriously, Bulloch is at the very least a cameo shoo-in for a (probable) Boba Fett film, or, if you want to go with something confirmed, Rebels. Marinate on it, Fettheads.
