The Book of Boba Fett
The Book of Boba Fett is an upcoming American television series created for the streaming service Disney+. It is part of the Star Wars franchise, a spin-off from the series The Mandalorian featuring the bounty hunter Boba Fett from that series and other Star Wars media. The series exists alongside other spin-offs Rangers of the New Republic and Ahsoka.
The Book of Boba Fett | |
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Genre | |
Based on | Star Wars by George Lucas |
Starring | |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Executive producers | |
Production companies | |
Distributor | Disney Platform Distribution |
Release | |
Original network | Disney+ |
Chronology | |
Related shows | The Mandalorian |
Temuera Morrison stars as Boba Fett, with Ming-Na Wen also starring as Fennec Shand. Both reprise their roles from The Mandalorian and other previous Star Wars media. Several attempts were made at developing a standalone Star Wars film centered on Boba Fett before Lucasfilm began prioritizing its streaming series such as The Mandalorian. Morrison appeared as Fett alongside Wen in the second season of The Mandalorian, and a potential spin-off series was first reported in November 2020. The Book of Boba Fett was officially announced in December 2020, with Morrison and Wen starring. It had already begun filming by that point.
The series is set to premiere in December 2021.
Premise
The journey of legendary bounty hunter Boba Fett continues following his reintroduction in The Mandalorian.[1]
Cast and characters
- Temuera Morrison as Boba Fett: A bounty hunter and son of Jango Fett.[2]
- Ming-Na Wen as Fennec Shand: An elite mercenary and assassin in Fett's service.[2]
Production
Background
Disney CEO Bob Iger announced the development of several Star Wars standalone spin-off films in February 2013. One was reportedly centered on the bounty hunter character Boba Fett, and would either take place between Star Wars (1977) and The Empire Strikes Back (1980) or The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi (1983).[3] The film was also said to explore the other bounty hunters seen in The Empire Strikes Back.[4] In early 2014, Simon Kinberg approached director Josh Trank about making a Star Wars film, and Trank made a pitch for a Boba Fett film to Star Wars producer Lucasfilm;[5] he was hired to direct that June.[6] Trank was scheduled to announce the film at Star Wars Celebration Anaheim in April 2015, and also reveal a teaser for the project, but this was canceled at the last minute after Lucasfilm became aware of the troubled production on Trank's film Fantastic Four (2015).[5] In May 2015, Trank was no longer working on the film.[8] A Boba Fett film was still being considered by Lucasfilm as of August 2017,[9] and James Mangold was set to write and direct it in May 2018, with Kinberg co-writing and producing.[10] Following the financial failure of the film Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), Disney reconsidered their Star Wars film output. By October 2018, the Boba Fett film was no longer moving forward, and Lucasfilm was prioritizing the Disney+ streaming series The Mandalorian instead.[11][4]
Iger said in February 2020 that spin-offs of The Mandalorian were being considered, and there was potential to add more characters to the series with the intention of then giving them their own series.[12] In May, Temuera Morrison was set to appear as Boba Fett in the second season of The Mandalorian.[13][14] Morrison portrayed Boba's father Jango Fett in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002), and went on to provide the voice of Boba in various Star Wars media.[15] Before Morrison's involvement in The Mandalorian was confirmed, Fett briefly appeared in the first season episode "Chapter 5: The Gunslinger" alongside the character Fennec Shand, portrayed by Ming-Na Wen.[16][14] Morrison makes a short appearance in the second season premiere, "Chapter 9: The Marshal", before being fully introduced in "Chapter 14: The Tragedy", directed by Robert Rodriguez.[17]
Development
By early November 2020, production on either the third season of The Mandalorian or a potential spin-off series focusing on Boba Fett was believed to be scheduled to begin later that month or in early December.[18] A Boba Fett spin-off series was not announced by Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy at Disney's Investor Day event on December 10, when The Mandalorian spin-offs Rangers of the New Republic and Ahsoka were announced; Kennedy said those series exist within The Mandalorian's timeline and were planned to culminate in a "climactic story event".[19] Kennedy did announce that the "next chapter" of The Mandalorian story would premiere in December 2021.[20]
The Mandalorian's second season finale, "Chapter 16: The Rescue", was released later in December 2020. It includes a "surprise end-credit sequence" that revealed The Book of Boba Fett was coming December 2021.[21] This led to some confusion and speculation among commentators who believed this was a subtitle for the third season of The Mandalorian, and that The Mandalorian would be switching focus from its title character Din Djarin to Boba Fett with the third season.[2] Jon Favreau, The Mandalorian's creator and showrunner, soon clarified that The Book of Boba Fett was its own series, separate from the third season of The Mandalorian. He explained that the spin-off was not announced by Kennedy at the Investor Day event because they did not want to "spoil the surprise" of the reveal at the end of "Chapter 16: The Rescue". He added that production had already begun on the spin-off. It is executive produced by Favreau, Dave Filoni, and Rodriguez, and like the other spin-offs it is also set within the timeline of The Mandalorian.[2]
Casting
With the series' official confirmation in December 2020, Temuera Morrison and Ming-Na Wen were confirmed to be reprising their respective roles of Boba Fett and Fennec Shand from The Mandalorian and other previous Star Wars media.[2]
Release
The series is set to premiere on Disney+ in December 2021.[2]
References
- "The Book of Boba Fett, A New Series, Coming December 2021 on Disney+". StarWars.com. December 21, 2020. Archived from the original on December 21, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
- Mitovitch, Matt (December 21, 2020). "Boba Fett Series Confirmed as a Mandalorian Spinoff; Pedro Pascal Will Be Back as Mando for Season 3". TVLine. Archived from the original on December 21, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
- Breznican, Anthony (February 6, 2013). "'Star Wars' spin-offs: A young Han Solo movie, and a Boba Fett film". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on December 15, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
- Breznican, Anthony (October 26, 2018). "Star Wars producers halt unannounced Boba Fett standalone film". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on June 4, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
- Patches, Matt (May 5, 2020). "The post-disaster artist". Polygon. Archived from the original on December 5, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
- Ford, Rebecca (June 4, 2014). "Josh Trank to Direct 'Star Wars' Stand-Alone Film". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on July 7, 2019. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
- Oldham, Stuart (May 1, 2015). "Star Wars: Josh Trank No Longer Directing Spinoff". Variety. Archived from the original on July 22, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
- Kit, Borys (August 17, 2017). "'Star Wars' Obi-Wan Kenobi Film in the Works (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 9, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
- Kit, Borys (May 24, 2018). "'Star Wars': Boba Fett Movie in the Works With James Mangold (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
- D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 26, 2018). "'Star Wars' Boba Fett Movie No Longer In Development; Lucasfilm Focusing On 'The Mandalorian' Streaming Series". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 18, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
- Couch, Aaron (February 4, 2020). "Disney's Bob Iger Considering 'Mandalorian' Spinoff Shows". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 4, 2020. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
- Couch, Aaron; Kit, Borys (May 8, 2020). "'The Mandalorian': Temuera Morrison Returns to 'Star Wars' Universe to Play Boba Fett". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 8, 2020. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
- Thorne, Will (December 4, 2020). "'The Mandalorian': Has Boba Fett Got His Mojo Back? And More Burning Questions From 'The Tragedy'". Variety. Archived from the original on December 4, 2020. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
- Couch, Aaron; Kit, Borys (May 8, 2020). "'The Mandalorian': Temuera Morrison Returns to 'Star Wars' Universe to Play Boba Fett". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 8, 2020. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
- Purslow, Matt (December 4, 2020). "The Mandalorian Confirms Some Facts About a Fan Favorite Character". IGN. Archived from the original on December 5, 2020. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
- Gemmill, Allie (December 7, 2020). "'The Mandalorian' Season 2 Director Robert Rodriguez on the Joy of Reviving Boba Fett". Collider. Archived from the original on December 7, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
- Andreeva, Nellie (November 5, 2020). "'The Mandalorian' Eyes Season 3 Production Start As Spinoff, Casting & Boba Fett Buzz Heats Up". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 6, 2020. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
- Vary, Adam B. (December 19, 2020). "How Disney and Lucasfilm Are Remaking Star Wars in the Image of Marvel Studios". Variety. Archived from the original on December 19, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
- Bui, Hoai-Tran (December 21, 2020). "'The Book of Boba Fett' Spin-Off Series Confirmed for Disney+ in December 2021; 'The Mandalorian' Season 3 Will Follow". /Film. Archived from the original on December 21, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
- Couch, Aaron (December 18, 2020). "Disney+ Sets New 'Mandalorian' Spinoff". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 18, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
External links
- The Book of Boba Fett at IMDb
- The Book of Boba Fett on Wookieepedia, a Star Wars wiki
- The Book of Boba Fett on StarWars.com