The Book of Boba Fett: a worthy character is given his due

One of the posters for the Book of Boba Fett from StarWars.com.

“We are now close on the mouth of the Sarlacc pit. After a beat, the gloved Mandalorian armor gauntlet of Boba Fett grabs on to the sand outside the Sarlacc pit, and the feared bounty hunter pulls himself from the maw of the sand beast,” the actor and comedian Patton Oswalt rattled off in an unscripted filibuster on the show Parks and Recreation  nearly nine years ago on how he would imagine Boba Fett surviving the Sarlacc pit.

December 29, 2021, the first episode of Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett premiered on Disney+. Since Fett’s reappearance in The Mandalorian, fans have been anxiously awaiting to see him featured in his own show. The show was teased in the last episode of season 2 of The Mandalorian, in which Boba Fett takes the throne on Tatooine, replacing Bib Fortuna who stole the throne from Jabba after his death Return of the Jedi.

The trailer entices fans with a whole new adventure surrounding the fan-favorite bounty hunter.

Temuera Morrison returns as Boba Fett after he took up the character for The Mandalorian. Morrison’s first role in the Star Wars universe was as the bounty hunter Jango Fett in Star Wars: Episode 2 – Attack of the Clones. Boba is also shown here in his first chronological appearance in the films, played by Daniel Logan, in which he is an unaltered clone made from Jango’s DNA.

Jango Fett (left) played by Morrison with Boba Fett (center right) played by Daniel Logan. Picture from StarWars.com.
Boba Fett (left) and Jango Fett in his armor (right), picture from wookieepedia.

Since the death of Jango Fett, Boba followed in his father’s footsteps, becoming a bounty hunter and taking up Jango’s armor. Boba ran with a group of bounty hunters led by Aurra Sing for a while who raised him while teaching him the trade. He did jobs all across the galaxy, making a name for himself. After the fall of the Galactic Republic, Boba Fett was often employed by the Empire, as is seen in The Empire Strikes Back, his first appearance on film. Boba Fett was also the preferred bounty hunter of the Tatooine crime lord Jabba the Hutt. Under Jabba’s employ, the bounty hunter is knocked into the Sarlacc pit by Han Solo. He was thought to be dead until his reappearance in The Mandalorian.

Boba Fett as seen in theaters in 1980 in the Empire Strikes Back. Picture from StarWars.com.

Obvious spoiler warning for the first two episodes of The Book of Boba Fett, the first episode was about Boba Fett along with his assassin, Fennec Shand, establishing themselves on Tatooine as Daimyo, a term borrowed from feudal Japan that described great lords, and the beginning of their struggle for dominance of the city of Mos Espa. The episode flashes between the present and Boba’s escape from the Sarlacc pit and his time among the Tusken Raiders.

Tusken Raiders, also known as Sand People, as seen in A New Hope. Photo from StarWars.com.

A personal favorite aspect of the show so far is the more in-depth look we get at the Tuskens and their way of life. There have been many more obscure sources for seeing Tusken life, though it is great having a mainstream series focusing on the subject. Another well done aspect of the show is the focus on organized crime within the Star Wars universe. We see Boba Fett interact with different crime syndicates on Tatooine, such as the Hutts and the Pyke Syndicate, and an attempt on his life from an assassin group.

The Pyke Syndicate unmasked, from Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett.

My only gripe with the show is the lack of dialogue, which is harder to do with half of the series so far being devoted to the Tuskens, who speak in their own language. Hopefully as the show progresses we will see more dialogue with more story implications. As it is, the show has failed to show the side of the criminal underworld of Star Wars to my satisfaction, though the way they have given it a slow build also has some appeal.

All together, I greatly enjoy The Book of Boba Fett and I look forward to more episodes to come. I highly recommend it to all Star Wars fans, young and old, no matter which era of Star Wars they enjoy. This show, while it may not be as popular and highly praised as The Mandalorian, is a beautiful love letter to an iconic Star Wars character and a welcome addition to the Star Wars universe.