Boba Fett has officially returned from the dead on The Mandalorian, but word is that Disney has more planned for him. Should he get his own series?
Even decades after he (seemingly) died in the Sarlacc Pit in Return of the Jedi, the armored bounty hunter Boba Fett remains an incredibly popular Star Wars character, despite almost a total lack of onscreen dialogue. Now, he’s returned on The Mandalorian, the live-action Star Wars show currently airing its second season on Disney+. Temuera Morrison, who portrayed Boba’s clone-father Jango Fett in the Star Wars prequel movies, is playing him.
We don’t know what Boba will get up to on The Mandalorian, but Disney may have bigger plans for him. The ever-reliable Deadline is reporting that a Boba Fett miniseries may be in the works, with shooting to start as early as next week.
Star Wars is something that has been a part of my life since I was an eight-year-old kid in 1977, staring at the movie screen in awe and wonder. But The Empire Strikes Back remains my favorite film. Why? It introduced Boba Fett to the series.
I live for Boba Fett. I have my Boba Fett tattoo design ready to go for when all this COVID stuff ends. I have had my picture taken with him at Hollywood Studios in Orlando, and another of him giving me a fist bump as he walks through a Disney parade. From shirts to hats to a pair of lounge pants, Boba Fett is by far my favorite Star Wars character.
And that’s why I can say without question that we don’t need a Boba Fett spinoff show. The 10-year-old kid inside of me is excited, but the adult (and inner Elsa) is screaming, “let it go, let it go!”
My problem isn’t that they couldn’t come with a plausible way for Boba to have survived the Sarlacc Pit. The Star Wars extended universe came up with a way out of that situation years ago, and I’m sure The Mandalorian producers could think of something, whether they take pages from the earlier SW novels or invent their own solution. The problem for me is Disney.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m a Disney freak, an annual pass holder at the parks and an avid fan of their movies and merchandise. The hallway to my kids’ rooms is decked out in Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh merch, plus a Disney family picture. But Disney has a long history of toning down beloved characters.
Does anyone think for a second that a Boba Fett series would portray him as the badass he is? The Mandalorian is fun and I’ve enjoyed watching Game of Thrones veteran Pedro Pascal bring the title character to life, but Boba Fett? He’s the best Mandalorian fighter in the galaxy, and I can’t imagine Disney giving him the treatment he deserves.
I don’t want to see a Disney-fied version of Fett. I want to see a vile bounty hunter who wouldn’t shoulder the responsibility of carting around and protecting Baby Yoda but instead being the one who steals him and turns him over to the bad guys without hesitation. That’s Boba Fett, a revenge-seeking, shoot first, ask no questions kind of bounty hunter.
If they do make a new miniseries, I want to see the kind of Boba Fett who would walk up to Cobb Vanth (Timothy Olyphant), shoot him and take his armor back without saying a single word. That’s the Boba Fett that George Lucas tried to kill in Return of the Jedi. That’s the Boba Fett I want to remember.
To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.
Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels