Still a long time until The Book of Boba Fett airs on 29th December. But Disney has already dropped a trailer that you can watch here if you haven’t already.
The first look has confirmed some of the things we already expected. Boba Fett is the central character and Fennec Shand is going to be by his side. It may be worth mentioning that – as confirmed by both the actors in some of their earlier interviews – the relationship between Fennec and Boba is fairly equal. Boba may come across as the more active one, the face of the team, and Fennec is the more introverted, thoughtful one. But you certainly cannot say that Boba would be the boss and Fennec some sort of his underling.
From Slave Zero To Hero?
The trailer shows Boba (and Fennec) where The Mandalorian‘s finale left him: in Jabba’s former throne room, sitting on the Hutt’s former throne. Later, the trailer proceeds to present him as a leader in his own right, who promises not to rule “by fear” like Jabba, but through respect.
It is quite a shift from Boba as we know him. That is, not the fear/respect dichotomy: Boba (and Jango) have always been presented as figures with strong personal integrity and their own code. But they had always been pawns (however independent ones) rather than players. For most of us, Boba is the drifter and a loner, a hunter going from one bounty to the next with his ship. Clearly, something has changed and the series should address it.
Boba has obviously been through a lot ever since being almost digested by the Sarlacc. His partnership with Fennec whom he saved in The Mandalorian has already showed it. But there is still quite a big step from reevaluating one’s life choices into becoming the ruler of Jabba’s former empire.
Who Will Make A Cameo This Time?
The trailer makes it clear that Boba will face some opposition while claiming the Tatooinian throne. Knowing how trailers go, this may however all be solved in the first couple of episodes. The rest of the series may very well be about something completely different. We can only speculate. The only thing I am already ready to bet my boots on is that we are going to see a cameo or a connection to some other character from another Star Wars show. Similarly to how we saw Ahsoka Tano in The Mandalorian or Fennec Shand in The Bad Batch. The reason? Dave Filoni, the famous “interweaver” of Star Wars stories, has his hands in the project once again.
Whatever the case, Boba will have to find his place among the powers-that-be. Aside from various crime lords that we see in the trailer, one possible established Tatooinian ruler he might have to deal with is the Marshal Cobb Vanth from The Mandalorian‘s second season. The Marshal is more of a “good guy”, but he is still someone who would not let his people be bossed around by just any claimant to Jabba’s empty throne.
…And Talon Karrde?
This brings us to one last possibility. Those knowledgeable in Star Wars lore will know the name of Talon Karrde. In the original Star Wars canon, he was one of the crime lords who claimed the remains of Jabba’s fallen empire. Karrde appeared in Timothy Zahn’s successful trilogy “Heir to the Empire” as, eventually, a reluctant ally on the side of the good guys. He ultimately helps Luke, Leia and Han against their new enemy, who is none other than Grand Admiral Thrawn.
Talon Karrde and the current Boba have much in common. Boba is also really not a “good guy” by definition, but circumstances and a certain sense of honour – the same thing Karrde had as well – made him an ally to the Mando and a hero rather than a villain. And Thrawn is expected to resurface in the upcoming Ahsoka series too: is it entirely inconcievable that Boba might play something akin to Talon’s role in this version of the Star Wars timeline?
The new canon Star Wars has done something similar a few times already: taking a new character and making them take on the role someone else had in the old canon. For example the Bad Batch squad bears similarity to Omega Squad (indeed, that’s their name!) from the Republic Commando novels.
Tatooine Connects Everything
Whatever will come out of The Book of Boba Fett, we have every reason to believe that it will be amazing. Temuera Morrison and Ming-Na Wen are dedicated actors while no less can be said also about the writers and directors. We can expect The Mandalorian-like adventures on the wild frontier of space, on one of the most familiar and most iconic places of the Galaxy: Tatooine.
And while we are speaking of Tatooine, here is another idea for a cameo, or a connection at the very least. The Obi-Wan Kenobi series is being prepared, and conveniently, we all know which planet Obi-Wan spent large part of his life on. Perhaps he has left something behind that Boba might find and that Luke or Ahsoka may arrive to collect. Or Boba may find something or run into someone who will make an appearance in the Kenobi series, two decades younger. Just being on Tatooine opens so many possibilities…
