The Book Of Boba Fett (December 2021)

[Wor-Gar]

pouring over the awesome drawings of Fett and Slave I in Joe Johnston's ESB sketchbook for hours on end.

I loved that book.

Fett was always my 2nd favorite villain in Star Wars OT. A great sidekick for Vader, yet his own man at the same time. An uneasy alliance.

Seeing both Vader and Fett slowly picked apart piece by piece in the PT was really disheartening.

Remember that comic -- Fett vs Vader? I think that was in the 90's though.

 

[jye4ever]

My own childhood and interest in the character so closely mirrors this, right down to playing with the original Large Size Kenner figure in 1979. The only thing I would add was also pouring over the awesome drawings of Fett and Slave I in Joe Johnston's ESB sketchbook for hours on end.

I'm completely with you and darth dennis on how much you love this character and how exciting it was to see him truly kick ass (in the one episode at least) last year and how exciting it was to see that style of storytelling continue in his own show.

Episodes 1 and 2 were quite blindsiding and frustrating but here's where I differ from you guys: The show is now SO mindbogglingly absurd (and bad) that it has somehow transcended the fact that it's doing a terrible job of connecting to the Fett that we know and love that it has somehow become *awesome*.

I think if it was "almost" good or 50% good but they screwed up Boba himself then that would be very frustrating but this, this is so spectacularly bonkers that it no longer actually bothers me at all and I hope they just stay the course at this point and get crazier and crazier with each new episode, lol.

I’m of the same mindset…lol

 

[Prime Clone]

Then Attack of the Clones happened. I was disappointed with Lucas' choice to make Boba a clone (something that would come back to haunt the franchise 20 years later it seems). The whole franchise kind of lost its lustre after the PT and I walked away.

While I didn't need to see Boba as a kid, I dug the connection to the Clone Troopers. After all, early concept art of Boba and the Stormies wasn't dissimilar, and as I kid I'd read rumours about Boba being a former Stormie.

 

[Prime Clone]

Meanwhile, young Nicole Kidman is still scarier than the Mos Espa Vespa Gang:

They shoulda gone with the swoop bike gang from Shadows of the Empire:

 

[Khev]

I’m of the same mindset…lol

It's the Holiday Special all over again. And does anyone ever fret about how lame Han, Luke, Leia, Chewie (and his family), etc., were? Heck no, it's just so hilariously bad that it's legendary. It would be absurd to hope for a "Holiday Special 2" where they "salvage" the Kashyyyk Life Day Saga. Would there be any point in trying to make up for it by doing another one where Leia sings a *better* song (lol) or Chewie's family are suddenly badass ninja warriors? Hell no. If they did another Holiday Special then I'd want even longer sections of unsubtitled Wookiee speak and random sitcom actors cracking wise at the bar.

So now that we've got Newsradio guy complaining to Boba Fett's face I hope next week brings us Fett trying to topple Fran Drescher's wacky pyramid scheme by opening a competing jewelry shop that low balls her door to door prices leading to Alan Thicke hopping into a hover transport and giving merry chase through a Trandoshan chocolate factory, lol.

 

[DuskRaider]

While I didn't need to see Boba as a kid, I dug the connection to the Clone Troopers. After all, early concept art of Boba and the Stormies wasn't dissimilar, and as I kid I'd read rumours about Boba being a former Stormie.

I agree to an extent. I understand Lucas was disappointed in Boba's demise (after he realized how popular the character had become) and wanted to capitalize on said popularity, but... it was just all kind of ham fisted. The Clone Wars series helped a lot with fleshing the character and the clones in general more than ole George could be bothered to do, but I feel that his reappearance is about 15 years too late. It's obvious Temeura Morrison isn't in his 40s, though he is still in better shape than most give him credit for.

I think one of the biggest problems is that Boba is more of a peripheral character, at least the way he's been written. He works as someone who emerges from the shadows to aid or act as an obstacle to another character, his skills are shown to be formidable, then he is gone. Making a character and actor that aren't really meant to be or written to be a main protagonist has kind of cornered the writers into making him something he's not. It doesn't help that this is also geared toward a younger audience. It should be darker. I think of George's concept for 1313 or the Underhive series he wanted. That was supposed to be dark and gritty. This is not.

 

[jye4ever]

It's the Holiday Special all over again. And does anyone ever fret about how lame Han, Luke, Leia, Chewie (and his family), etc., were? Heck no, it's just so hilariously bad that it's legendary. It would be absurd to hope for a "Holiday Special 2" where they "salvage" the Kashyyyk Life Day Saga. Would there be any point in trying to make up for it by doing another one where Leia sings a *better* song (lol) or Chewie's family are suddenly badass ninja warriors? Hell no. If they did another Holiday Special then I'd want even longer sections of unsubtitled Wookiee speak and random sitcom actors cracking wise at the bar.

So now that we've got Newsradio guy complaining to Boba Fett's face I hope next week brings us Fett trying to topple Fran Drescher's wacky pyramid scheme by opening a competing jewelry shop that low balls her door to door prices, lol.

I am super confident now that Trejo will ride a speeder bike with a machete lol

I won’t even flinch during Han’s big surprise cameo when Fett apologizes to him for the carbon freezing.

Like you know that’s coming…right.

RIGHT!

RIGHT!!!

 

[Prime Clone]

Coincidentally Life Day was "canonised" this past Thanksgiving:

 

[Khev]

Coincidentally Life Day was "canonised" this past Thanksgiving:

Actually didn't the blue guy mention Life Day in the very first episode of Mando Season 1?

 

[Khev]

jye I can't find that one post you made calling out the black Wookiee's ridiculous run but you are right, it was super lame!

One thing that was kind of cool about the weird slant to Peter Mayhew's knees was that for any scenes where Chewie had to jog (escaping Cloud City, etc.) he kind of had that weird gait that could easily be taken as something not quite human. As opposed to Shaquille O'Neal dressed like an NBA mascot and just charging off into the open desert (instead of taking the road back to town, lol.)

 

[Prime Clone]

I think one of the biggest problems is that Boba is more of a peripheral character, at least the way he's been written. He works as someone who emerges from the shadows to aid or act as an obstacle to another character, his skills are shown to be formidable, then he is gone. Making a character and actor that aren't really meant to be or written to be a main protagonist has kind of cornered the writers into making him something he's not.

Good point, his biggest selling points have always been his design and his mystery. In typical Disney/Lucasfilm style he's been overexplained and overexposed. And yes, it was George who started it.

 

[Mondragon]

Actually didn't the blue guy mention Life Day in the very first episode of Mando Season 1?

Yes Favreau out the gate made it canon. That's who we are dealing with.

They shoulda gone with the swoop bike gang from Shadows of the Empire:

Even Serji-X Arrogantus' Clowd-Riders would have been more intimidating.

And a better role for Danny Trejo too.

 

[Khev]

You know for like 10 seconds at the end of this newest episode when they showed that massive transport landing and the Pikes marching out I thought whoa they're actually going full Dune here...until it was confirmed moments later that that ship was merely a "Starliner" and that those two rows of "a dozen Pikes" were the extent of the threat that was marching off the ship, lol.

Mando Season 2 Fett could have taken the entire lot of them without breaking a sweat.

 

[Prime Clone]

Yes Favreau out the gate made it canon. That's who we are dealing with.


Even Serji-X Arrogantus' Clowd-Riders would have been more intimidating.

And a better role for Danny Trejo too.

True, but the Cloud Riders were already borrowed for Solo. LFL is nothing if not derivative.

 

[ajp4mgs]

******* exactly. He's not the same character and they're ignoring the fact, seemingly hoping we won't notice while they forge onwards with this new vision of him. Just, WTF.

It does indeed seem deliberate, and therefore that much more peculiar. In the second episode, he tells the mayor, "I'm not a bounty hunter" instead of saying, "I'm not a bounty hunter *anymore.*" That would've at least given some acknowledgment of a distinct shift/change from what OT Fett would've had to be like to the persona we now see in BoBF.

By leaving out the "anymore," it's almost as if Boba is having an identity crisis or can't remember who he was. Maybe that's ultimately going to be the explanation. I don't know. But based only off of what they've given us so far, it's just...

 

[ajp4mgs]

Well in one way they might think they are addressing the complaints of SW suffering from the same arcs so they are now altering the core characteristics in a way

I would applaud attempts at new arcs in SW, but it can (and should) be done without changing OT context. For example, what is gained by changing rancors from the ferocious monsters we assumed them to be into sympathetic creatures that have to be provoked or abused in order to be aggressive?

Luke Skywalker killed one of them. How does SW get better by having Luke kill a creature that is now being recontextualized this way?

Instead of fixing something that wasn't broken, why not make something new? Give Boba Fett an entirely new creature to ride. Maybe something that looks closer to a mythosaur so as to mix old and new. Or just an entirely new design to inspire the imagination the way that a never-seen-before rancor did for kids like me back in 1983.

The same can be said for the Tuskens. Leave the context as it has been for decades, and either use it to serve the story, or create something new to accomplish that.

 

[jedibear]

I watched this episode again (yes, I know there are much more interesting ways to self inflict wounds) and came to a sad realization. As I commented after the first episode, I'm more convinced than ever that we saw the best Disney Star Wars had to offer with Rogue One and the two seasons of The Mandalorian.
While TROS (and the sequel trilogy as a whole) were a quick, stabbing wound, this show is like the knive's still in, being slowly twisted.

I lost it with Marvel's D+ offerings to the point where I canceled forthcoming figures and boxed up most of the Marvel collection with intent to sell. I hope to return to some of those early MCU movies and view them with interest and pleasure again someday. That's how much the recent slate of subpar movies and bad shows have sullied my interest in following that franchise and collecting figures from it.

I've always held a stronger interest in Star Wars and enjoyed collecting from it. I'm holding out a little hope that upcoming shows like Andor and Kenobi will be well done and interesting, my expectations are pulled way back.

And please Disney...don't let Rodriguez anywhere near SW again. Bad match. Let him go off and do his girl Zorro.

 

[Mondragon]

And please Disney...don't let Rodriguez anywhere near SW again. Bad match. Let him go off and do his girl Zorro.

I think he passed that off to his sister.
Although Disney is doing the more classic male Zorro, maybe they'll divert him there.

 

[choombaz]

I think he passed that off to his sister.
Although Disney is doing the more classic male Zorro, maybe they'll divert him there.

he should stick to making vegan pizza

 

[matticus]

he should stick to making vegan pizza

He could fit that in: