When it was announced that Jon Favreau was developing a live-action Star Wars series called The Mandalorian, fans were understandably psyched. After all, the franchise's most famous bounty hunter is a Mandalorian, and there are several other noteworthy and badass characters who had roots in the planet Mandalore. Even if this adventure wasn't explicitly about Boba Fett, it could tie into his story somehow, right?
Unfortunately, The Mandalorian initially seemed to spell trouble Boba Fett rather than give him a new beginning. The series was the primary reason why the Boba Fett movie died, as the studio wanted to focus on the live-action series instead. There was various discussion at the time of its cancellation, but not a lot of speculation around why that decision was made. Now, I'm speculating it's because Boba Fett will be re-introduced in The Mandalorian, which is a great idea.
To start, most Star Wars fans are aware that Boba Fett was fleshed out to be a far more imposing and interesting character than he was portrayed to be in the Star Wars films. The original Expanded Universe saw Boba escape the Sarlacc he was dumped into during Return of the Jedi, and covered his extensive work as one of the most famous bounty hunters in the galaxy. There's a lot more to this guy than the doofus whose rocket malfunctioned and sent him immediately to his death.
Well, there was anyway, up until Disney took control of Star Wars and rebranded all of his stuff that didn't happen on film as non-canon. With that said, there is reason to suspect he's alive after the release of the novel Star Wars: Aftermath. The story briefly mentions that two Jawa scroungers happen upon some discarded Mandalorian that had been partially melted. How many people were chilling out in the desert with that type of armor?
Take that, and pair it with the fact that Jon Favreau recently shared a photo of what appeared to be the iconic R5-D4, and it's looking like The Mandalorian could re-introduce Boba Fett in some way. Now, there may be Star Wars fans collectively rolling their eyes that yet another classic Star Wars character is butting into what could be an original series that distances itself from the events of the Skywalker Saga, but this would be a good thing.
For starters, Boba Fett isn't just a character with roots in the original trilogy. His introduction in the prequels mean there's a possibility for flashbacks from the Clone Wars era, which would give The Mandalorian an excuse to hit flashbacks from all eras. It doesn't necessarily have to, although it would be cool to have Boba Fett around for the off chance someone like Dave Filoni wanted to do a standalone episode set during the Clone Wars.
Plus, let's not forget that if Boba Fett survived the Sarlaac, Disney has tons of territory and money to flesh out his future adventures in the Star Wars universe going forward. There's a vast universe for the bounty hunter to explore, and as Star Wars: The Last Jedi showed in its casino scene, there's opportunity to make tons of money in wartime. If The Mandalorian re-introduced him into canon, then another live-action series could show him getting back to work.
Provided that's something Boba Fett would want of course, as life as a bounty hunter might be rough. There's no telling what type of damage he could've suffered at the hands of the Sarlaac, and a guy like him is bound to have a good number of enemies. Plus, a near-death experience might cause someone to re-evaluate their life and possibly realize all they'd been living for up until that point wasn't what they wanted.
Here's a crazy theory: what if Pedro Pascal's unknown character known as The Mandalorian is Boba Fett? It's been heavily hinted Fett's armor was discarded, so The Mandalorian's armor could be some new duds he picked up. Plus, what was with that rifle Jon Favreau posted that resembled one Fett once used? It feels like if that were the case Disney wouldn't have openly mentioned Boba Fett in its first synopsis, but maybe that was to throw people off!
Sure it would be a little disappointing to learn there isn't a new and exciting Mandalorian warrior to learn about, but a series centered around Boba Fett's life after the Galactic Civil War could be the series fans have wanted all along. After all, wouldn't it be the worst thing if The Mandalorian does work in the bounty hunter in some way, only to briefly touch on him and move on? People were excited for the Boba Fett movie for a reason.
It was another chance to catch up with the character, and for the Star Wars world to give fresh new tales to a profession rarely touched on in Star Wars films, bounty hunters. It's a profession right up there with Jedi and smuggler, and it wouldn't be right to have any other character showcase the in's and out's of it without some connection to the character who made it cool.
Ok, he didn't make it cool from the jump, but thanks to merchandising and future stories, Boba Fett eventually became a revered character in Star Wars canon. In a world where all the major heroes of the Galactic Civil War are slowly being phased out of future adventures, characters like Boba Fett are needed to keep the old films relevant and maintain the ties to past trilogies.
He doesn't even have to be a focal point of The Mandalorian. Just give him enough of a role and some direction to take his adventure elsewhere, and let his stories live on through a new spin off series, comics or novels. Anything that moves the character's story forward in the modern sequel era would be ideal, and be a great way to keep the legacy of classic characters alive in this modern era of Star Wars.
The Mandalorian is set to arrive on Disney+, and is one of two currently planned live-action Star Wars shows on the platform. Be sure to stick with CinemaBlend for any and all updates on its progress, and visit our midseason premiere guide to keep track with all of the shows premiering and returning in 2019.
