This was recently confirmed: Boba Fett will have his own spin-off, becoming the third character in the Star Wars saga that Lucasfilm will focus on (after Han Solo and Obi Wan Kenobi). If James Mangold, the director chosen by Disney and Lucasfilm, will surely be most competent, we can ask ourselves a question: is the choice of the character wise? Focus!
Boba Fett is a beloved character among Star Wars fans. This bounty hunter dressed in Mandalorian armor is one of those pop-culture icons recognizable at first glance. Appearing for the first time in Star Wars 5 – The Empire Strikes Back (even if he was added in Star Wars 4 – A New Hope on the occasion of the reissues), this character was basically only a tertiary element of the plot, not really developed in terms of story. As proof, he finds himself swallowed by the Sarlacc in a very stupid way in Star Wars 6 – Return of the Jedi… But coup de théâtre: fans love this character, leading to a slew of comics about him. It is therefore logical that Disney and Lucasfilm have decided to surf this wave of popularity with a film totally dedicated to him. If the idea is rather interesting at the base, it could however be that this choice is a strategic mistake.
It will not have escaped many people: Solo – A Star Wars Story is a bitter failure at the global box office, even forcing Lucasfilm to review its schedule for the years to come. And this failure came despite the fact that Han Solo is one of the favorite characters of the Star Wars audience. Certainly several parameters are to be taken into account regarding this flop, but the fact is that if a spin-off on a central character crashes, it is very dangerous for Lucasfilm to make one on such an unimportant character. So yes, Boba Fett has a well-developed fanbase among Star Wars fans, but fans of the Extended Universe remain a niche audience, not numerous enough to make a film of this scale profitable. If Rogue One – A Star Wars Story exceeded one billion dollars at the global box office, it was because it had interested the general public. Could a story about Boba Fett do the same? There is room for doubt.
Another question is to be asked about Boba: what period would be interesting to treat? After all, his genesis has already been discussed in the Prelogy, and his training as a bounty hunter was shown in The Clone Wars. In the Original Trilogy, he is the badass we know and there is no need to develop much anymore. Little room for maneuver could therefore be left to the artistic team of the film. The most sensible idea might be to talk about the period between Episode V and Episode VI, as the story Shadows of the Empire did. Otherwise, the film could address its story after Episode VI because know it: Boba survived his journey inside the Sarlacc. Or maybe the film will go in a totally different direction and surprise us.
However, there is one positive point to be taken into account, namely the director chosen. James Mangold is indeed at the origin of the recent and excellent Logan, which was the superheroic punch of the year 2017. Mangold is a talented director and will surely be creative when it comes to Boba Fett. When you see the western he managed to make with Logan, you can only fantasize about the galactic western he could create with Boba Fett. Originally, it was Josh Trank (Chronicle) who was approached to manage this spin-off, but various problems including The Fantastic 4 he directed have apparently blacklisted it with big productions (for now at least). Another thing could also be interesting in the context of this spin-off, namely the reappearance of young Han Solo (perhaps we could discover some rivalry between the smuggler and the bounty hunter).
In short: this spin-off on Boba Fett is full of potential, but it is a very risky bet on the part of Disney and Lucasfilm. How will the giants of production arouse the interest of the spectators vis-à-vis this character? No one can say. While waiting to learn more, discover the clues indicating that a spin-off on Darth Maul could be secretly in the works. And we can say it: a spin-off on Darth Maul, it could be particularly cool!
