What Exactly Was The Point Of Book Of Boba Fett?

This article contains spoilers for The Book of Boba Fett episode 7.

Throughout its first season, The Book of Boba Fett put the bounty hunter on the sidelines, leaving viewers questioning the overall purpose of the series. The Book of Boba Fett featured Temuera Morrison’s bounty hunter finally taking his place as a crime lord in the Star Wars universe. The series tells Boba Fett’s story in both the past and the present. Flashbacks showcased Boba Fett’s escape from the Sarlacc pit after the bounty hunter took a tumble into the beast in 1983’s Return of the Jedi. Besides escaping from the Sarlacc, Boba Fett gets taken prisoner by Tusken Raiders before eventually befriending the Tatooine people. Present-day scenes reveal Boba Fett’s attempt to take over Jabba the Hutt’s throne on Tatooine, which becomes complicated when the Pyke Syndicate wants to run spice through the territory.

The Book of Boba Fett finale finally ended the threat from the Pykes. Boba Fett’s war with the Pykes comes to a head in the episode, with the Pyke Syndicate enacting a plan to try to destroy the ex-bounty hunter. In addition to Cad Bane (Corey Burton), Tatooine locals join the Pykes, betraying Boba Fett’s trust and ambushing the new Daimyo’s troops. However, Boba Fett wins in the end. The ex-bounty hunter rides his rancor to victory, destroying the Pykes’ deadly droids and defeating Cad Bane himself. Thankfully, he also has the help of Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), Grogu, Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen), the Mods, and the people of Freetown.

Boba Fett’s Disney+ series was a curious addition to the Star Wars canon. The Book of Boba Fett trailers constantly teased the bounty hunter’s rise to becoming Daimyo on Tatooine. However, the series was more about Boba Fett’s backstory and updating the character. Unfortunately, the show faced significant criticism from fans and critics for sluggish storylines and marketing that didn’t match the series’ content. Most surprisingly, Boba Fett wasn’t even the star of his own show.

What Viewers Thought Book Of Boba Fett Would Be About

Boba Fett has a long history in Star Wars. The character rose to fame through a minor role in 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back, making an impression with a cool helmet, a deadly demeanor, and Darth Vader’s (James Earl Jones) warning of “no disintegrations.” The mysterious character was so well-liked that even an embarrassing fall into the Sarlacc couldn’t kill him. Instead, Boba Fett’s story continued in Star Wars lore. The character then made a glorious return to live-action in The Mandalorian, with Temuera Morrison’s portrayal receiving praise from fans and critics alike.

After four decades, The Book of Boba Fett was finally supposed to showcase the character. A Mandalorian season 2 post-credits scene teased Boba Fett taking over as the crime lord on Tatooine, killing Bib Fortuna (Matthew Wood) and stealing Jabba the Hutt’s former throne. The series trailers were vague, but The Book of Boba Fett director Robert Rodriguez teased major spoilers coming in the show.

What Book Of Boba Fett Was Actually About

Unfortunately, The Book of Boba Fett’s marketing didn’t match the series. Rather than lean into the elements that made Boba Fett famous, which were his mystery and his iconic armor, the series focused more on fleshing out his character and revealing what’s beneath the mask. As a result, Boba Fett spends most of the series without his iconic helmet. Temuera Morrison’s Boba Fett is an entirely different character from the start. Rather than act like the killer he used to be, Boba Fett is more of a diplomatic, benevolent crime boss on Tatooine. This new character basically represents the former Boba Fett only in name. The once mysterious, masked character even gets roughed up in nothing but his underwear in The Book of Boba Fett episode 3. The iconic look and attitude that defined the character are an afterthought.

Besides adding layers to Boba Fett, the series expands the Star Wars universe. Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker, Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin, and Grogu make appearances, setting up their future stories as Grogu ultimately decides to leave his Jedi training to be with the Mandalorian. In addition, the series takes its cues from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, attempting to make The Book of Boba Fett just a chapter in a bigger overall story. The move makes sense on paper. After all, Jon Favreau, the filmmaker who kicked off the MCU with 2008’s Iron Man, is the creator behind Boba Fett’s series and The Mandalorian.

The Book Of Boba Fett’s Biggest Problems

The Book of Boba Fett’s tone was all over the place. Was it a Dad Comedy? Episode 4 featured Boba Fett hilariously chasing a droid around Jabba the Hutt’s Palace, and the finale featured several adorable moments with Grogu reuniting with the Mandalorian. Or was it a cold-blooded revenge thriller?  Moments after Boba Fett’s comical droid chase in episode 4, he mercilessly guns down Nitko Bikers. And in addition to cute scenes with Grogu, the season 1 finale features Fennec Shand graphically hanging the mayor of Mos Espa. After seven episodes, The Book of Boba Fett still couldn’t decide what it wanted to be.

Beyond the tone, the storylines were equally chaotic. Early on, the series focused on long, dialogue-less flashback scenes of Boba Fett with the Tusken Raiders. The show continually tried to justify the flashbacks, even making the Pykes secretly responsible for the murders of Boba Fett’s Tusken Raider family. But ultimately, the flashbacks drastically slowed the series down and often just served to fill in blanks about Boba Fett’s past rather than move the story forward. Even worse, Boba Fett barely appears in the show’s most critically-praised episodes. Episode 5, which Bryce Dallas Howard directed, was all about the Mandalorian, and episode 6 featured Grogu’s Jedi training. Since Grogu and Mando go through more significant life changes in The Book of Boba Fett than the series’ titular character, the show clearly had a problem from the start.

Why The Book Of Boba Fett Fails Boba Fett

After forty years, The Book of Boba Fett season 1 could hardly live up to sky-high fan expectations for a Boba Fett solo project. But the show isn’t truly a Boba Fett solo project. Instead, the series is a small part of the bigger Star Wars machine. And overall, it does more to set up stories for Luke Skywalker, the Mandalorian, Grogu, and Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) than it ever does for Boba Fett. The former bounty hunter’s arc in the series is basically non-existent. Temuera Morrison’s character starts the series as Tatooine’s benevolent new crime lord, and he concludes it the same way. In the end, the biggest twist in The Book of Boba Fett is that the series wasn’t really about Boba Fett.

About The Author

Bill Bradley
(524 Articles Published)

Bill is an experienced reporter who’s covered entertainment and fandom since 2014. He’s done everything from unearthing the discarded Game of Thrones pilot script in a library in Texas to finding out why Steve left Blue’s Clues. He also enjoys eating Taco Bell and drinking chocolate milk.

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