The Book of Boba Fett
- Thread starter Thain
- Start date
ConvergencePro
Master Member
Be honest... you didn't even bother to read that article, did you?
I feel like we're just going in circles now lol
It's back to film school. Time to review movies where the main character is not the one with all the dialogue, not the one with an arc, but the fulcrum around which other people have dialogue and arcs. The context for others' stories. A recent good example of this is Captain America. In TFA, TWS, CW, IW, and EG (and, after the fact, F&WS), Steve remains the same throughout. Sure, he gets a power-up, but he knows who he is and keeps being that at the universe, no matter how much the universe throws at him or how badly beat he gets. Bucky is the one with the arc.
Or, over in Leone's Westerns or several of Kurosawa's films (and used to good effect in Usagi Yojimbo by Stan Sakai), we have the terse, unspeaking protagonists. Others get the dialogue, even having whole conversations with the main character by themselves with the main character communicating by not speaking.
That's one of the things the Twin Engines of Destruction comic did well. Fett had very little dialogue. On his ship, most of the talking was done by Dengar. Hell, even in AOTC and his first episode of Clone Wars, Boba hardly spoke. I didn't like how talky they made him later in the series. And, as much as I liked seeing him in ROTJ in '83, it never made sense to me why he was there. Maybe if it had been plotted out better -- if the rescue of Han Solo had been the entirety of that episode as originally thumbnailed before George decided to cram all the rest of Luke's arc in so he could be done with Star Wars... Maybe his presence could have been made sensical. Maybe he hung around after handing Han over because he knew Han's friends would try to rescue him and he wanted the bounty Vader likely had out on Luke (and Leia?) by that point or something. Maybe he'd struck a deal with Jabba, and was quietly fuming at Jabba's emotional reaction to attempt to kill Luke -- twice -- and their escape plan going into action was his chance to capture Luke to deliver to Vader alive, after all. But what we got didn't convey that -- at least, not remotely clearly, if that were the intention behind Fett being there at all.
Add in the SE addition of ROTJ Fett to ANH and the out-of-character bit of him chucking the chin of one of Jabba's dancers, and before we ever met his young self in AOTC, I had come to solidly feel ESB Boba and Tatooine Boba were actual separate individuals. Particularly with Twin Engines of Destruction coming out that same year and showing us Fett going after someone pretending to be him.
So Boba -- if, indeed, the guy in Jabba's court who took the header into the sarlacc really is Boba Fett -- has by the OT figured out exactly who he is and how he expresses that to the outer universe. Maybe he can have an arc, post-sarlacc, and perhaps even akin to what we got in the EU where he is forced to confront his identity and heritage and finally starts to let his shell crack a bit. But starting with him relaxed and chatty is utterly the wrong way around.
This is also, by the way, after Lucasfilm had been playing up Boba Fett for more than half the time between the release of Star Wars and the release of Empire. Rolling out the early version of the costume and having him appear with Vader in the San Anselmo Thanksgiving parade in '78, right around the same time he was featured in the Star Wars Holiday Special. Kenner had the mail-away promotion for him, when no other characters from the upcoming Star Wars 2 had action figures yet.
So there was a definite gravitational center to the character, from superficial moviegoers seeing the cues I mentioned onscreen, even if they didn't register them, to people who were more invested in the fandom recognizing a familiar character to them that they'd been waiting to see again for a year and a half.
Motivations don't matter in the context he was presented. By giving him more than the one scene on the bridge of Vader's ship, he was visually elevated in importance above the other bounty hunters. By giving him lines, he was elevated over all the people on-screen who had none. By having him survive, he was elevated over all those who were sacrificed to the Hero Shield -- including Dack and Zev, as well as Hobbie and Veers in the original cut. And then, by having him succeed where everyone else failed, he left people -- consciously or unconsciously -- registering him as someone to keep an eye on. That we didn't know his motivations (or past, or present circumstances, or family, or anything) is what gave such an important character to the story and Our Heroes' fates within it his air of mystique. The Powers That Be need to then be careful in peeling away that mystique, lest it ruin the character.
George... wasn't. Boba Fett had grown out of the moviemaking process. For Star Wars, Vader was originally envisaged as someone working with the Empire, not a part of the command structure. The words "bounty hunter" may or may not have been floated. George had come up with the idea early that a squad of elite Imperial Supercommandos from Mandalore tracked the Rebels to their new base. As the script evolved, those elite forces and their Mandalorian origin were split. The elite forces became Veers' Snowtroopers, and the Mandalorians were condensed to one, who was given Vader's original rôle in the first film. From seeing all the work that went into the Supercommandos, I am curious how much of Boba was George and how much was the combined weight of Joe Johnston, Alan Harris, Sandy Dhuyvetter, Ben Burtt, Duwayne Dunham, et al.
It is on record that George considers Empire the "weakest" of the six films he made. In large part most likely due to his lack of direct control (he wasn't the sole writer, he wasn't the director, etc.), but I wouldn't be shocked if part of that, whether he's able to elaborate it in words, is what I and BobaFettSlave_1 said -- Boba Fett took the attention of George's characters and made them look like chumps. There are noises from people in a position to know that George resented that, and Boba's popularity distracting from the Hero, that he included the character in ROTJ specifically to kill him off. And then the EU brought him back five times over (Marvel even had him escape the Sarlacc only to get knocked back in again). When George made AOTC, early publicity materials, like the pre-release Jango figure's cardback, referred to Jango as "the last Mandalorian". George tried repeatedly to stamp them out, and EU creators kept finding ways around him. Dave Filoni's fondness for them is well-known. He had to have wanted to include them from the beginning of The Clone Wars. I am willing to bet we had to wait until season 2 because Dave and George were going back and forth, with George ultimately prevailing with the New Mandalorians and those armor-wearing throwbacks a group of fringe radicals. Given how much that shifted over the series, and in Rebels, I'd be curious to know how George feels about it all.
But, at the end, what was established was that Han and Boba were both "simple men trying to make their way in the universe". Both lived on their ships, both did what they knew how to to survive by their wits and reflexes. Regardless of the action going on around them, Empire was a pas-de-deux between the two.
Or, over in Leone's Westerns or several of Kurosawa's films (and used to good effect in Usagi Yojimbo by Stan Sakai), we have the terse, unspeaking protagonists. Others get the dialogue, even having whole conversations with the main character by themselves with the main character communicating by not speaking.
That's one of the things the Twin Engines of Destruction comic did well. Fett had very little dialogue. On his ship, most of the talking was done by Dengar. Hell, even in AOTC and his first episode of Clone Wars, Boba hardly spoke. I didn't like how talky they made him later in the series. And, as much as I liked seeing him in ROTJ in '83, it never made sense to me why he was there. Maybe if it had been plotted out better -- if the rescue of Han Solo had been the entirety of that episode as originally thumbnailed before George decided to cram all the rest of Luke's arc in so he could be done with Star Wars... Maybe his presence could have been made sensical. Maybe he hung around after handing Han over because he knew Han's friends would try to rescue him and he wanted the bounty Vader likely had out on Luke (and Leia?) by that point or something. Maybe he'd struck a deal with Jabba, and was quietly fuming at Jabba's emotional reaction to attempt to kill Luke -- twice -- and their escape plan going into action was his chance to capture Luke to deliver to Vader alive, after all. But what we got didn't convey that -- at least, not remotely clearly, if that were the intention behind Fett being there at all.
Add in the SE addition of ROTJ Fett to ANH and the out-of-character bit of him chucking the chin of one of Jabba's dancers, and before we ever met his young self in AOTC, I had come to solidly feel ESB Boba and Tatooine Boba were actual separate individuals. Particularly with Twin Engines of Destruction coming out that same year and showing us Fett going after someone pretending to be him.
So Boba -- if, indeed, the guy in Jabba's court who took the header into the sarlacc really is Boba Fett -- has by the OT figured out exactly who he is and how he expresses that to the outer universe. Maybe he can have an arc, post-sarlacc, and perhaps even akin to what we got in the EU where he is forced to confront his identity and heritage and finally starts to let his shell crack a bit. But starting with him relaxed and chatty is utterly the wrong way around.
What is established is exactly what was said by the person you quoted. In that film, Boba was the only one -- protagonist or antagonist -- who accomplished his goal (except maybe Piett's goal of getting promoted and staying alive -- at least until the next episode). Everyone else lost. The thematic and visual storytelling of the film established that this guy was supremely competent. More competent than the other bounty hunters (a sequence was unfortunately cut where IG-88 knew Fett's proficiency and decided to track him, on the supposition he'd lead the droid to the quarry and then IG would be good enough to take the prize itself). More competent than Han, who had been evading bounty hunters since the end of ANH -- established by dialogue in both films. More competent than Vader who had found and managed to lose the Rebels (or, at least, the only one he really cared about, and then his best means of finding that one). Even more competent than the central Hero of the cycle, Luke Skywalker. In the halls of Cloud City, he knew Luke had landed, he doubled back and effectively discouraged pursuit. Whether he knew Lando would try something, he got to his ship unmolested and calmly departed with his prize and his first payout of the job.
This is also, by the way, after Lucasfilm had been playing up Boba Fett for more than half the time between the release of Star Wars and the release of Empire. Rolling out the early version of the costume and having him appear with Vader in the San Anselmo Thanksgiving parade in '78, right around the same time he was featured in the Star Wars Holiday Special. Kenner had the mail-away promotion for him, when no other characters from the upcoming Star Wars 2 had action figures yet.
So there was a definite gravitational center to the character, from superficial moviegoers seeing the cues I mentioned onscreen, even if they didn't register them, to people who were more invested in the fandom recognizing a familiar character to them that they'd been waiting to see again for a year and a half.
Motivations don't matter in the context he was presented. By giving him more than the one scene on the bridge of Vader's ship, he was visually elevated in importance above the other bounty hunters. By giving him lines, he was elevated over all the people on-screen who had none. By having him survive, he was elevated over all those who were sacrificed to the Hero Shield -- including Dack and Zev, as well as Hobbie and Veers in the original cut. And then, by having him succeed where everyone else failed, he left people -- consciously or unconsciously -- registering him as someone to keep an eye on. That we didn't know his motivations (or past, or present circumstances, or family, or anything) is what gave such an important character to the story and Our Heroes' fates within it his air of mystique. The Powers That Be need to then be careful in peeling away that mystique, lest it ruin the character.
George... wasn't. Boba Fett had grown out of the moviemaking process. For Star Wars, Vader was originally envisaged as someone working with the Empire, not a part of the command structure. The words "bounty hunter" may or may not have been floated. George had come up with the idea early that a squad of elite Imperial Supercommandos from Mandalore tracked the Rebels to their new base. As the script evolved, those elite forces and their Mandalorian origin were split. The elite forces became Veers' Snowtroopers, and the Mandalorians were condensed to one, who was given Vader's original rôle in the first film. From seeing all the work that went into the Supercommandos, I am curious how much of Boba was George and how much was the combined weight of Joe Johnston, Alan Harris, Sandy Dhuyvetter, Ben Burtt, Duwayne Dunham, et al.
It is on record that George considers Empire the "weakest" of the six films he made. In large part most likely due to his lack of direct control (he wasn't the sole writer, he wasn't the director, etc.), but I wouldn't be shocked if part of that, whether he's able to elaborate it in words, is what I and BobaFettSlave_1 said -- Boba Fett took the attention of George's characters and made them look like chumps. There are noises from people in a position to know that George resented that, and Boba's popularity distracting from the Hero, that he included the character in ROTJ specifically to kill him off. And then the EU brought him back five times over (Marvel even had him escape the Sarlacc only to get knocked back in again). When George made AOTC, early publicity materials, like the pre-release Jango figure's cardback, referred to Jango as "the last Mandalorian". George tried repeatedly to stamp them out, and EU creators kept finding ways around him. Dave Filoni's fondness for them is well-known. He had to have wanted to include them from the beginning of The Clone Wars. I am willing to bet we had to wait until season 2 because Dave and George were going back and forth, with George ultimately prevailing with the New Mandalorians and those armor-wearing throwbacks a group of fringe radicals. Given how much that shifted over the series, and in Rebels, I'd be curious to know how George feels about it all.
But, at the end, what was established was that Han and Boba were both "simple men trying to make their way in the universe". Both lived on their ships, both did what they knew how to to survive by their wits and reflexes. Regardless of the action going on around them, Empire was a pas-de-deux between the two.
Wolfsburg
Master Member
Wonderfully said. It annoys me when people moan about how Fett is overrated and how the hype around him is the fault of the fans themselves. Nope, Boba Fett was marketed pretty heavily in the years leading up to TESB. It was LFL that fomented and stoked the hype around the character and presented him as a big deal. Who was this mysterious rocketman with all the weapons and cool helmet? The parade appearance, the early action figure, his introduction in the holiday special were all marketing done by LFL. How can one blame fans for being excited and then wanting more of the guy after his movie appearances were whittled down to what they were?
As for Fett’s presence in Jabba’s court, in my head canon I assumed that at one time the idea was that we were meant to infer that he must work on retainer for Jabba, possibly reinforced by the presence of Bossk and Dengar being there as well. At least before their scenes were largely cut. I figured at one time the idea was that at least those three were Jabba’s bountyhunters/fixers he kept on his payroll.
I got a strange feeling with that conversation too.. the comedic “did you understand any of that?” Felt strange
Seems like they are going a whole new direction
New rockstars decoded it, I haven’t watched the YouTube video yet explaining it yet
I love the Jabba Lives idea
Wolfsburg
Master Member
“Jabba Lives” is the first thing that came to mind although it doesn’t make sense for the reason already given. StarWarsTheory made a video discussing it and he claims it’s a callback to one of the comics where Jabba collects water as a form of tax from local farmers. That doesn’t really make much sense considering Jabba would’ve been dead by that point so who knows…
Thats says it all!
(But only in season 1 of the mandalorian..in season 2 they also made him to a helmetsless chatterbox..but a good guy...
)
ConvergencePro
Master Member
Anybody remember what the hell this goofy little bit was from? Its the 83 Hero ROTJ Fett suit for sure. Even this goofy 18 second clip bleeds more Boba character than E1 of BoBF
Wolfsburg
Master Member
It’s a clip from a mockumentary, Return of the Ewok, featuring Warwick Davis (who played Wicket). The actors and production were game enough to do this little project during downtime, as I understand it.
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Haha..that would be a great cliffhanger(post credit scene) for season 2 of the book of boba fett.
They could do the same like Episode 9....they can make up the story later to explain that!
ScreenCrush on YT says they're Red Key Raiders as seen in a Cobb Vanth flashback in Mandelorian.
harrisonp
Sr Member
That was the Mining Collective. As per Wookieepedia the RKRs haven’t appeared onscreen and are only in the Aftermath books so far.
Hardly a homage to Ironman. The “dressing of the hero” has been around for a very long time. Have you ever seen a Batman movie?
I re watched it right after watch screen crush’s video because I thought they were different as well. You are 100% correct they are referred to as the mining collective
