Taika Waititi is one a brilliant list of directors working on the first ever live-action Star Wars TV show, The Mandalorian, which will debut later this year on Disney+.
Recently, Waititi took part in a Television Critics Association panel and, among other things, discussed The Mandalorian. He explained that making a Star Wars film isn’t like making a Marvel film (he directed the well-received Thor: Ragnarok) because here you want to adhere to the feel of the original films (which, he pointed out, means he can’t put too many jokes in because Star Wars fans don’t like it). So it sounds like the directors of this series (or at the very least Waititi) are being cognizant of the original feel of Star Wars and doing what they can to stay true to that while taking things in some new places. I like that.
More interestingly from a story standpoint, though, were some other comments that Waititi made about the character’s possible connection to Boba Fett. Waititi actually plays a role in the show as well, and he revealed that his character has a connection with Boba Fett. And here’s what Waititi said about Fett:
“For most kids growing up with those films, [Boba Fett] was one of the most favourite characters, even though he’s barely in the films. Just the idea of bounty hunters, the helmets are so cool. Just getting to see characters like that and getting to shoot with them is pretty cool.”
Alright, so there are all sorts of questions that this raises. It should not be surprising that the show will have some sort of connection with Boba Fett, since after all he’s the most famous wearer of Mandalorian armor (though is not himself a Mandalorian). And without knowing what character Waititi plays, we can’t really speculate about what kind of connection this could be. It could be something as simple as the character having had a run-in with Fett years before, or it could be something far more meaningful.
But several fans have noted the last sentence of Waititi’s statement: “Just getting to see characters like that and getting to shoot with them is pretty cool.” Is that confirmation that Fett himself actually appears in the show? I’ve long said that I wouldn’t be totally shocked if we find out Boba Fett is alive and makes a surprise appearance, but I really don’t think this is any sort of confirmation. It’s possible, but it’s not the only way to read it. It’s probably more likely that Waititi is saying that he grew up loving Boba Fett, so seeing other characters in Mandalorian armor and filming with them – characters like Fett – is cool. That statement can be entirely true whether Fett is in the show or not.
Regardless, this is our first true indication that the show will have a connection to Boba Fett, though it has long been presumed. We still don’t know whether Fett is alive or not post-Return of the Jedi, but in the EU he escaped the sarlacc. In the new canon, there have been a couple of brief stories about his armor (in the Aftermath books) but nothing either way about Fett’s fate. One would assume, however, that if his armor was recovered it’s entirely possible that he had found a way to escape… but we just don’t know. So it’s possible that this show could include an appearance from Boba Fett, and if it did that’d be absolutely awesome. But whether it does or doesn’t, the show will apparently feature at least one character who shares some sort of connection with the legendary bounty hunter.
Star Wars Thoughts 