With the highly-anticipated Star Wars series The Book of Boba Fett coming to Disney Plus sooner than some might expect, fans are hungrier than ever for every tiny morsel of new info they can get their geeky little paws on. The story that's basically been roughly 40 years in the making finally puts fan-favorite Boba Fett front and center for his own underworld exploits, giving long-time thirsty fans a release they've desired ever since hearing the words "as you wish." Not bad for someone who got barely 6 minutes of screen time in his original appearance.
In the latest splash from Disney's drip-feed of teases regarding The Book of Boba Fett, they've rather unceremoniously released a new image featuring Boba (Temuera Morrison) and his new business partner Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen) looking all cool and stuff. Unlike most other shots from the upcoming Star Wars series, this one notably features Boba without his iconic helmet, showing off that gruff mug fans have grown to love ever since Morrison first appeared in Attack of the Clones as Jango Fett. That's right, this new image provides the shocking new revelation that... Boba Fett takes off his helmet again at some point.
The Book of Boba Fett follows the titular bounty hunter as he seeks to take power in the criminal underworld after the death of Jabba the Hutt. Set rather soon in the aftermath of Return of the Jedi, the series also takes place shortly after Boba's appearance on The Mandalorian, which saw him finally reclaim his armor and prove that his butt-kicking skills haven't gotten any rustier since falling into that Sarlacc pit on Tatooine. Now, after teaming up with a similarly death-cheating Fennec, the two have some plans to carry out.
The show's premise has many fans wondering if this will be the first Star Wars project to really embrace the "gray area" of morality. In a series that basically made its name on a constant battle between the unambiguously good Light Side and the definitely evil Dark Side, the whole black and white thing has admittedly been wearing a little thin for some fans who want to see more nuance in the storytelling. Granted, it seems as though every time somebody tries to actually take the franchise somewhere new, they're met with vitriolic opposition from purists, who seem to think that (for example) making Luke Skywalker an actual human character rather than some perfect godlike being is tantamount to betrayal of everything Star Wars stands for.
So in that way, it's understandable that it's taken this long to really take a look into the more gritty side of the galaxy. Star Wars: The Last Jedi, despite being arguably the best entry since The Empire Strikes Back, is probably most remembered for being divisive. So that probably scared Disney away from really going all-in on innovation. But The Book of Boba Fett may signal a return to that form, focusing less on the possibly overdone Jedi and more on the darker elements of the universe.
However, dark doesn't always mean bad, and hopefully that's a theme that will also be explored here. Sure, Boba and Fennec are essentially trying to take over the criminal underworld. But isn't it better to have order in that realm than just a bunch of gangsters running around unchecked?
The Book of Boba Fett will premiere on Disney Plus starting December 29th, 2021.
Source: Empire