Breaking down the first trailer for The Book of Boba Fett!

The first trailer for The Book of Boba Fett was released this week!

The show will premiere on Disney+ on December 29 and will star Temuera Morrison as Boba Fett and Ming-Na Wen as Fennec Shand, picking up on where we saw them in The Mandalorian season two. The best sense of the show that we had was that it would be about Boba Fett establishing himself in the place of Jabba the Hutt, based on the post-credits scene of Fett killing Bib Fortuna and ascending to Jabba’s throne.

So while the first trailer didn’t give us a ton of new information, it did set that context and give us some exciting shots – since, after all, this is out first look at the series! So let’s break down what we saw in the trailer!

The first shot that we get in the trailer is of Tatooine, as we get a shot of the Dune Sea and Jabba’s Palace, and we see a B’omarr Monk wandering about! That’s what this spider-like droid is, as the B’omarr Monks were a religious group that thought it best to separate their brains from their bodies, so their brains were placed in special containers meant to house them – which were then carried about by these spider-like droids in order to move about. A B’omarrian monastery was located on Tatooine, which was taken over by Jabba – who nonetheless allowed the monks to stay around.

Next up is a droid handing Boba his helmet, which he looks at briefly before putting on. As we see this, we hear Boba saying, “I am not a bounty hunter.” We then hear another voice (we’ll get to that in a moment) say, “I’ve heard otherwise.” This statement helps us set the stage a little bit for the show. We all obviously know that Boba Fett is a bounty hunter, and that during the reign of the Empire he was the most notorious in the galaxy. But that was before his experience with the sarlacc pit, and that kind of experience would obviously change a man. As many noted during The Mandalorian season two, this version of Fett’s character does seem a bit different than the one we saw previously, and it seems he’s operating on a bit more nobility and a code. This kind of statement would fit in with that, but I’m also not convinced that it’s this simple. After all, there are some shots in the trailer that still suggest he’s not exactly a good guy, but it does seem like he’s trying to forge ahead as a better person. That could make for some interesting storytelling.

Boba and Fennec approach a building that looks significant, and they pass by several people in the village on the way there. But who are they going to visit? Well…

We see who it is they are going to visit (presumably), and we learn that it’s the same person who we heard speaking earlier questioning Fett’s assertion that he’s not a bounty hunter. It’s an Ithorian, and he’s obviously important, as he sits on a throne, has attendants around him, and is visited by Boba Fett. This Ithorian says, “I know that you sit on the throne of your former employer.” We don’t know who this Ithorian is; I think it would be cool if Dok Ondar were to show up as a cameo at some point, but this certainly doesn’t seem like him, and depending on this guy’s role it might make sense why Dok Ondar wouldn’t be used. We’ll have to wait and see. He’s obviously a person of some significance, and I wonder if he’s one of the people who rose to a place of prominence on Tatooine in the absence of Jabba the Hutt in the five years since Return of the Jedi.

And the reason I speculate that he’s on Tatooine is because this city looks like it’s probably the same one Fett and Shand visit the Ithorian in. I love the design of this city, as it’s this sprawling metropolis built into a vast cavern. It evokes memories of Jedha in my mind, but I think it’s probably Tatooine. I think that given the fact that this is on a desert planet, that it looks like most of what we see in the trailer is on Tatooine, and that Fett is operating from that world. And in a show that appears to be heavily set on one of the most familiar planets in Star Wars, it makes a ton of sense to show us a city on the planet we’ve never seen before. This would be without question the largest city we’ve encountered on the planet, and so I wonder if it could be a city like Bestine – one that we know exists but have never actually seen.

We get a shot of Boba Fett’s throne, the one that Bib Fortuna previously sat on before Fett killed him and took it himself. And Alex Damon at Star Wars Explained actually translated this: it’s written in the ancient Sith tongue, ur-Kittât, and roughly reads “Boba Fett.” That’s a fun easter egg, but don’t make too much of it. It’s unlikely there’s actually a reason why the throne that was there before Fett ever sat on it would bear his name, but it’s a fun easter egg for fans. I think that’s probably all it is, and that’s fine! It’s fun.

It looks like Boba’s meeting with the Ithorian might not go too well, as it results in Fett, Shand, and the Ithorian’s attendants all raising their weapons at each other. The trailer strikes a good balance between Fett seeming in charge and things seeming to be quite tense for Fett. I’m guessing that’ll be a continual theme in the series as well.

As some of these shots are happening, we then see Boba removing his helmet while outside this building, in the streets, with Fennec coming alongside him. And overlaid on all of this is a line from Fett: “Jabba ruled with fear. I intend to rule with respect.” As mentioned earlier, it seems like we’ll be getting a little bit different version of Boba Fett, one who is more respectable and honorable than previously and who intends to do things differently than Jabba did. This does make sense to me, as when we consider what happens in the War of the Bounty Hunters and in Return of the Jedi, it does make sense why Fett would want to do some things differently than his predecessor! I can’t imagine that Jabba is Boba’s favorite person. The version of Fett that we saw in The Mandalorian honored the code and was loyal and respectable. I’m guessing we’ll see his continued development and growth along those lines in this series.

Jabba’s Palace is looking as great as ever. There are some fantastic establishing shots of Tatooine in this trailer, and this is one of them. There’s not a lot to comment about here though, except for the fact that it looks like a visitor might be approaching the Palace? It’s pretty faint and hard to make out, but that’s the way it looks to me.

This is a very interesting shot of Boba Fett sitting at a banquet table in Jabba’s Palace with a number of others, including some Trandoshans, some Klatooinians, some Aqualishes, and probably others too. Fennec Shand tells them, “You were all once captains under Jabba the Hutt,” which gives us an idea of who Boba is speaking to. These are people who worked for Jabba, and were some of his ‘trusted’ men. But rather than coming to them to enact revenge, Fett comes to them with a job offer, apparently. “I’m here to make a proposal that’s mutually beneficial,” he says. “Why speak of conflict when cooperation can make us all rich?” So Boba’s aim is still to get rich, but he seems to think there’s a better way of doing it than fighting against each other. The crime syndicates in Star Wars have mostly been marked by conflict, with rare exceptions of cooperation like Maul’s Shadow Collective. I would be very interested to see Fett trying to work with others rather than against them. I think that would be pretty cool. But it wouldn’t be for some noble reason of wanting to unite people, but rather still out of greed and a desire for riches – he just thinks there’s a better way of getting it.

Boba and Fennec look on from one of the spires on Jabba’s Palace, and I wonder if they’re looking at some sort of party or festival for the others?

There’s a shot of Tusken Raiders forging through a sandstorm, which is obviously a shot that will evoke familiar images for Star Wars fans and connect instantly in the trailer. But I also find their outfits interesting; it’s possible that the colors are merely deceiving based on this shot, but it looks like their cloaks are dark brown – which look to me just like the cloak Boba Fett wears when we first see him in The Mandalorian season two, before he gets his armor back. And considering he carries a gaffi stick as well, it makes sense. In other words, I wonder if this could be a flashback scene of the Tusken Raiders who found Boba Fett after his survival from the sarlacc pit? We know that Jawas found his armor, but they presumably didn’t have anything to do with Fett himself (either just finding his armor, or presuming him dead). So maybe it was Tusken Raiders who actually helped him recover? The only reason I speculate on this is because of Fett’s dress and weaponry in The Mandalorian, and these sand people in this shot look very similar. Regardless of whether I’m right here, I hope we do get some flashbacks and some exploration of how Fett managed to survive.

Fennec Shand has a knife hidden in her gun that she removes and throws at someone off-screen, so that’s a nifty trick.

Boba and Fennec enter into an unknown building, pushing aside a curtain to enter. And this is probably as good of a time as any to mention that, throughout the trailer, we see that Boba is escorted by two Gamorrean Guards. So he’s keeping Jabba’s security in place, and after seeing two Gamorreans fighting in the premiere of The Mandalorian season two, I’m excited to see them return.

Twi’leks are returning as well! There appear to be a lot of alien species, mostly familiar, and they look fantastic in this trailer.

And of course we’re not getting Boba Fett without the Slave 1, and we get a brief shot of it flying across the Tatooine landscape.

At Boba’s dinner, one of the Trandoshans arrogantly asks, “What prevents us all from killing you, and taking what we want?” At this, Fennec exchanges a glance at Boba, who calmly takes a drink from his cup. Once again I’ll say that the aliens in this show look really good, and that these Trandoshans look great. Beyond being visually impressive, though, this does give us the impression that these captains aren’t exactly totally on board with Fett’s proposal. I wonder if a significant part of this show, at least at first, will see Fett trying to establish a cooperative partnership with others, even if the relationship is a bit strenuous.

I’ve included a number of different shots here, which all appear to be from the same scene – and appear to take place at the same location Fett and Fennec visited earlier. (Which, by the way, given its immense prominence in this trailer makes me think that this will probably occur very early in the season, perhaps even in the first episode.) A number of fighters use shields to surround Boba and Fennec, but Boba springs into action, taking some of them out and then using one of their vibro-staffs to brutally kill one of them (presumably). And in all of this, I think there are three main takeaways that I have. (1) First, it reinforces the point from the previous shots at the dinner: things aren’t exactly going to come easy to Boba in his quest to unite some of the criminal underworld. (2) Second, the shot of Fett’s helmet falling to the ground, and then seeing credits spill out of it, suggests to me that his motives aren’t as good as one might like. He still is probably motivated by greed and making money (which I already suggested earlier he probably assumes he can do better through cooperation than conflict), and this shot further indicates that. It is also worth noting that these are New Republic credits, so perhaps the New Republic has more of a presence on Tatooine than we thought? (3) And third, Fett’s facial expressions while (presumably) killing one of the fighters is one of rage, like we saw in The Mandalorian season two. I do very much think that the character will continue to progress more and more toward a sense of nobility, but we’ve got to keep in mind that he’s a scoundrel; he’s not exactly a good guy in the Star Wars universe. I’m guessing we’ll get a chance to see some of this progression and development happen in the course of the show.

Fennec Shand says, to the same captains seen at the dinner earlier, that, “If you had spoken such insolence to Jabba, he’d have fed you to his menagerie.” This evokes what looks like fear from them, which makes sense, given that Jabba’s captains would have known how he fed people to his pet Rancor. This takes place with Fett sitting on his throne rather than at the table, so this probably isn’t directly connected to their challenge earlier, but it’s meant to look that way in the trailer. And after Fennec says this, Fett says, “Please. Speak freely.” Again, this is supposed to indicate to us that Boba is doing things differently than Jabba, and he’s willing to let these people voice their concerns and their challenges. However I doubt he’ll let this go on unhindered without end, so we’ll have to see how all of this plays out.

The trailer ends with the logo for the series, and I’ve also included the Lucasfilm logo above, as I loved how the color was subtly changed to match the Boba Fett color. Overall, I enjoyed this trailer, and it gives us our first look at the series, which is always a great thing! But not much at all was revealed, keeping very much in line with the marketing for The Mandalorian. The trailers for both seasons of the show included shots from early in the season that didn’t give away much of anything by way of plot details, and it looks like that’s the same for The Book of Boba Fett‘s first trailer. I think the vast majority of these shots will take place early in the season, paving the way for plenty of surprises over the rest of the season.