For as long as I can remember, Star Wars fans have been urging Lucasfilm and Disney to make a solo Boba Fett movie. He and Darth Maul are among the top fan choices to have their own solo films, and I can understand why. For one, he just looks cool. I always liked how his armor was always dirty and showed signs of combat, in contrast to Jango’s shining armor. He’s also considered to be one of the biggest highlights of The Empire Strikes Back. Maybe it’s because he was basically Darth Vader’s right-hand man and responsible for leading him to the heroes on Bespin. A good start, but his death in Return of the Jedi was, well, anticlimactic to say the least.
The biggest impact the character had was giving us the term, Boba Fetted. His unsatisfying demise was turned into a phrase to describe any cool character that was killed off in a very lame fashion. That’s not exactly the best legacy for a Star Wars character to leave behind, but it’s the one he’s got. Perhaps that’s the reason why fans want a Boba Fett movie so bad, but let’s ask ourselves, “should Boba Fett really get his own solo movie?”
On paper, it sounds like a good idea, and it’s an idea Disney and Lucasfilm has entertained. Back in 2014, Josh Trank was officially announced to direct a standalone Boba Fett movie, and sure enough, fans were excited. Who can blame them? We really want to see his story continued on the big-screen, and it seemed we were finally getting our wish. Well, it turns out you can’t always get what you want. Trank departed from the project due to “creative differences” with the studio, leaving the film’s future in question. Hope seemed to have resurfaced when they were in talks to bring James Mangold on board to replace Trank. That was exciting news, since Mangold is a talented director with a great track record. It looked like the Boba Fett movie was back on track.
Yeah, not exactly. Not too long after Mangold was reported to come on board, the Boba Fett film was confirmed to be one hundred percent dead. Boy, oh boy, the Star Wars fandom just can’t get a break can they? A Boba Fett film was something I really wanted to see and like the heroes of Star Wars, I was hopeful. Did it pay off? In a way, it actually did. It turns out Disney really opted out of the Boba Fett film so they can focus on The Mandalorian series. If you wanted to know what the Boba Fett film could’ve been like, just watch that show. It’s the space western with a cool bounty hunter we wanted to see, only it’s not the exact bounty hunter we wanted to see.
That’s fine, because the show is awesome with a new and original character. Personally, I’m glad Star Wars is finally expanding its boundaries, because now is the time to show new characters. We’ve had enough of the Skywalkers for a while, so give us some new faces. That being said, I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing some old faces in upcoming shows. I am very excited for the upcoming Obi-Wan show and super stoked that Ewan McGregor is returning. I can make a list of the possible people he can encounter, but one of them can indeed be Boba Fett. Yes, Boba is an old face we’ve seen before, but he’s one we need to see again. Heck, he could even make an appearance in The Mandalorian.
So if Boba Fett can’t get his own movie, why should he once again take on a supporting role? If we got back to the Legends continuity, it showed Boba escaping the clutches of the Sarlaac Pit. That’s right, he survives that terrible fate and flies out to freedom. He awakens sometime later and his adventure continues. In the continuity of Legends, he had a woman who loved him and even a daughter. He lived a long life and as I recall, he never really died. However, Legends was declared to be officially non-canon since Disney bought ownership for Lucasfilm. That means Boba never actually escaped the Sarlaac Pit and canonically died when he fell into it. Man, does that stink.
While Boba may actually be dead in the new continuity, his return is still possible. After all, this a universe where characters tend to appear after death. In the case of Boba Fett, a determined survivalist like him would definitely have a chance of escaping the Sarlaac Pit. I would quickly forgive Disney and Lucasfilm for retconning his death in order to exploit him in future Star Wars stories.
So why do we need to see Boba Fett out of all the other old faces? Just think about what he did in the original trilogy. He spent most of his time looking cool, he helped Darth Vader catch the heroes, then he died unceremoniously. The point is he didn’t do that much. This is why we need to see him in future Star Wars shows/movies. If he’s really that popular of a character, he deserves another chance to actually do something worth remembering. He doesn’t mean give him his own solo movie, but I have a few ideas on where he can appear next.
I mentioned the Obi-Wan series and how he can make appear as a supporting villain. It’s likely that Boba was on Tatooine and working for Jabba the Hutt during Obi-Wan’s exile, and if Jabba needed an enforcer to terrorize the Lars family, Obi-Wan and Boba Fett would likely have a hostile encounter. Obi-Wan is actually the first Jedi Boba ever encountered and he would probably still remember the fight he had with his father on Kamino. Boba is one to hold a grudge, since Obi-Wan had a hand in Jango’s death, so seeing them go at it would be super fun to watch.
Of course, we can’t talk about Boba Fett without mentioning The Mandalorian. After all, Disney and Lucasfilm abandoned the film so they could focus on this show. How poetic would it be if Boba returned as a villain in The Mandalorian? He’s likely part of the same creed, wears similar armor, and his skillset resembles The Mandalorian’s. Since the show takes place five years after Return of the Jedi, it’s possible that Boba could’ve escaped the Sarlaac Pit and spent his time hiding and recovering. Unlike The Mandalorian, Boba had no qualms working for the Empire and doing their dirty work. Moff Gideon and other fugitive imperials would hire Boba to hunt down Baby Yoda, and it’s a job he would happily take, given his enmity towards the Jedi.
Let’s also keep in mind that Ahsoka will be appearing in season two. If Boba can’t get his revenge on Luke and Han, he needs another Jedi to fight. Hunting down Baby Yoda and encountering the same Jedi who imprisoned him as a teenager in the Clone Wars series would make for a very personal mission for him. Plus, how cool would it be to see him and The Mandalorian go at it? Assuming the show goes on for a while, it’s likely that he can very well appear. It would justify his return and he would still be a villain. On top of that, he can actually do something cool and have a death worthy of his character. Disney and Lucasfilm, please make this happen.
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