Will The Book Of Boba Fett Leave Room For A Boba Fett Movie?
As virtually every "Star Wars" fan is well aware by now, we're getting "The Book of Boba Fett" on Disney+ in December, which will let the beloved character take the spotlight for the first time in his long, storied history. We even got a trailer for the show recently, which gave us a true taste of what the show is going to be. It is, for the most part, going to pick up in the aftermath of "The Mandalorian" season 2, with Temuera Morrison's Boba Fett taking the throne at Jabba's former palace, heading up the criminal underworld.
What it's not going to be is a story rooted in the past, even if the past will be explored on some level. With that being the case, the show may well still leave room for a Boba Fett movie down the line, which is something that has very nearly happened a couple of times before. Whether or not that will come full circle remains to be seen, but it's certainly not off the table just yet.
A Brief History of Would-Be Boba Fett Movies
When Disney purchased Lucasfilm in 2012 it was with the promise that the "Star Wars" franchise would expand in ways fans never could have imagined. Aside from a new trilogy, we were going to get standalone spin-offs such as "Rogue One" and "Solo: A Star Wars Story." Even the upcoming "Obi-Wan Kenobi" show started life as a possible film that would bring back Ewan McGregor as the titular Jedi. Similarly, at two different stages, a movie centered on Boba Fett was in active development.
The first and most notable example was director Josh Trank's ("Chronicle") scrapped "Boba Fett" movie. Hollywood was hot on the filmmaker ahead of the release of "Fantastic Four," which would go on to flop in spectacular fashion. Disney and Lucasfilm were so high on this one that they even prepped a teaser trailer that was to be shown at Star Wars Celebration in 2015. However, Trank was fired from the gig, the teaser was never shown, and the project never came to be.
In May of 2018, it was reported that James Mangold ("Logan") had been tapped to once again take a crack at bringing Fett to the big screen in his very own feature film. Mangold was said to be writing and directing the movie, but this version was short-lived. By October of that same year, it was reported to be dead in the water. Perhaps not coincidentally, it was October of 2018 when we first learned the title of "The Mandalorian," a show that ended up focusing on a bounty hunter making his way through the galaxy. It is worth pointing out that plot details for both versions were never revealed.
The Book of Boba Fett is (Mostly) Here and Now
As is the case with any "Star Wars" project at this stage, things are being kept quite secretive in terms of "The Book of Boba Fett." That said, between the trailer and synopsis, it's pretty clear that this isn't going to be an anthology series as I once suspected it might be (given the title). The synopsis, for what it's worth, reads as follows:
The Book of Boba Fett, a thrilling Star Wars adventure, finds legendary bounty hunter Boba Fett and mercenary Fennec Shand navigating the galaxy's underworld when they return to the sands of Tatooine to stake their claim on the territory once ruled by Jabba the Hutt and his crime syndicate.
Despite the focus on the here-and-now, old man Boba version of the character, there will be flashbacks. In a previous interview, Morrison confirmed as much, explaining that we will at least see some of his past and what he's been up to since his debut in "The Empire Strikes Back."
"Well, we can't say too much, but we're going to see his past and where he's been since The Empire Strikes Back. Somebody pointed out he's been kind of stuck in this one place, and now's the time to actually go back in time and check out his journey and find out more about him."
How substantial will those flashbacks be? That remains to be seen but it seems somewhat fair to assume they aren't going to cover what might have otherwise been covered in one of the abandoned movies.
Flashbacks Can't Possibly Cover it
Come what may of these flashbacks in the show, it is hard to imagine they will be substantial enough to cover all of the questions fans have regarding Boba Fett. In this way, it seems entirely plausible that a movie could still be in the character's future. It's just a matter of what approach the proposed movie should/could take. While that would surely be a subject of great debate, it's the intrigue of the character that may provide the answer.
The fact of the matter is Boba Fett has endured, in part, because there is so much mystery surrounding him. Sure, he looks awesome and that absolutely helped matters, but fans have been allowed to explore the subtext in their own minds for all these years. That adds to the intrigue and curiosity. To that end, perhaps a movie would do well to keep that intact. Maybe do a "Dirty Dozen" bounty hunter team-up movie with Fett as the lead in an ensemble that touches on his history, without taking a heavy-handed approach (we're looking at you, "Solo.") Whatever the case, this show and a potential movie are not mutually exclusive. Your move, Lucasfilm.
"The Book of Boba Fett" premieres December 29, 2021 on Disney+.