Where The Book Of Boba Fett Fits In The Star Wars Timeline
It's been over a year since "The Mandalorian" season 2 ended with Din Djarin bidding a bittersweet farewell to his little green companion Grogu, allowing him to leave and train in the ways of the Jedi with some rando in a black hood and robe. (Seriously: we know he's Luke Skywalker, but the least Din could've done is ask for his name.) As everyone awaits the next chapter in Din's story, the "Star Wars" franchise is taking a detour getting there with "The Book of Boba Fett," a spin-off series centered on the eponymous bounty hunter and his companion Fennec Shand (who owes him a life debt after he saved her from certain death in "The Mandalorian" season 1).
Boba, of course, made his grand return in "The Mandalorian" season 2 and has been a part of the "Star Wars" universe since 1978, back when he made his debut in the animated segment of the stupendously bad "Star Wars Holiday Special." But after all the "Star Wars" movies, TV shows, comic books, and more that've come out since Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012, you would be forgiven for being confused about where "The Book of Boba Fett" fits into the property's ever more complicated timeline. Allow us to break it down.
Boba Fett's Timeline Explained
Boba was created by the Kaminoan scientists responsible for making the Grand Army of the Republic in 32 BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin seen in "Star Wars: A New Hope"). While he is a clone of Jango Fett, the bounty hunter and Mandalorian foundling who served as the basis for the Republic's clone army, Boba was not genetically altered to age at an accelerated rate like the army's other soldiers and was instead raised by Jango as his son.
After Jango's death in the First Battle of Geonosis in 22 BBY (seen in "Attack of the Clones"), Boba was left to make his way in a galaxy far, far away alone, in time becoming a notorious bounty hunter like Jango (whose armor Boba wears to both honor him and because, frankly, it's dang useful). This paved the way to him working for Darth Vader, who recruited the skilled mercenary for various jobs, including tracking down the Millennium Falcon and its captain, Han Solo, in 3 ABY (After the Battle of Yavin), as seen in "The Empire Strikes Back." Upon doing so, Boba delivered Han (frozen in carbonite) to Jabba the Hutt, to whom Solo was in debt.
One year later, Luke and his allies successfully rescued Han from Jabba's clutches, in the process blowing up his sail barge (with the already-dead Jabba on it) and leaving Boba to die a slow death in the belly of the Sarlacc on Tatooine. Or so it seemed...
Where Does Book of Boba Fett Fit Into The Mandalorian Timeline?
"The Mandalorian" season 1 picked up in 9 ABY, or five years after the destruction of the second Death Star in "Return of the Jedi," by which point Boba had escaped the Great Pit of Carkoon while being separated from his armor, which was then recovered by Jawas and sold it to Cobb Vanth, the sheriff of the small Tatooine town Mos Pelgo. Vanth, in turn, gave Boba's armor to Din (who didn't take kindly to the idea of a non-Mandalorian having it) before Boba and Fennec tracked Din to the planet Tython and, after some initial hostilities, finally recovered it.
Upon aiding Din in his efforts to rescue Grogu from the ex-Imperial Moff Gideon (as repayment for returning Boba's armor to him), Boba and Fennec returned to Jabba's palace on Tatooine to kill the late crime boss' successor and former majordomo, Bib Fortuna, before claiming Jabba's throne for Boba himself. This is where "The Book of Boba Fett" will start, although it's confirmed to include flashbacks that explore Boba's experiences since "The Empire Strikes Back" in greater detail (most importantly, what he got up to between his near-fatal encounter with the Sarlacc, saving Fennec, and meeting Din).
"The Book of Boba Fett" debuts December 29, 2021 on Disney+.