What The Book of Boba Fett needs to change if it returns for season 2
This is – you guessed it – the way.
So there we have it – Jon Favreau has put down his pen and officially written The Book of Boba Fett season 1’s last line. As the galaxy far, far away continues to expand, the long-awaited Boba Fett standalone has finally blasted free from the digestive juices of the Sarlacc.
Even the most die-hard Star Wars fanatics will admit that The Book of Boba Fett season 1 was a mixed bag. Then again, just like the prequel trilogy, there’s a chance the series will age like a fine wine. In classic Star Wars style, the finale tied up just enough loose ends while leaving some dangling threads to warrant a second season, but where do we go next?
As we await the inevitable green light, here’s what The Book of Boba Fett season 2 can learn from its predecessor.
Actually feature Boba Fett
There’s a reason The Book of Boba Fett was dubbed The Mandalorian season 2.5, with the frankly baffling realisation that arguably the series’ best episode didn’t feature Fett at all. There were two whole episodes that were effectively Diet Fett, with the story shifting focus to Din Djarin and Grogu.
Although the addition of Mando and Grogu helped make the Book of Boba Fett finale what it was, you can’t help but feel the show should’ve been called The Chapter of Boba Fett and The Book of Friends. Josh Trank had been working on a Boba Fett movie, and even though the Star Wars anthology movies have seemingly been canned, there’s a sense that maybe Boba Fett doesn’t have enough of a story to pad out a seven-episode season instead of a two-hour movie.
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The Book of Boba Fett season 2 will undoubtedly be make or break, but it remains to be seen whether the lead can actually hold up a spin-off of his own, or is destined to be a side character that pulls off some sickening fight scenes.
Get off Tatooine
It’s been 45 years since we first saw the twin suns rise over Tatooine, and it’s about time for a change of scenery. The Star Wars series has visited some weird and wonderful planets over the years, and yet, we still return to this arid desert time and time again.
Given Boba’s backstory and upbringing on Kamino, that’s at least one potential road trip in season 2, while a finale mention of Coruscant could tease a return to the Imperial Center. Way back when, LucasArts had been working on the fabled Star Wars: 1313, which would’ve followed Fett navigating Coruscant’s seedy criminal underbelly.
Despite Boba Fett’s story having moved past this narrative, Star Wars overlord Kathleen Kennedy previously said 1313's ideas could be reused. Tatooine is all well and good, but if you’ve seen one Bantha skeleton and Jawa Sandcrawler, you've seen them all.
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Let’s talk about The Book of Boba Fett’s problem with death. As well as offing Cad Bane before he could barely draw his pistol, Jennifer Beals’ Garsa Fwip’s explosive farewell felt like a middle finger to fans. The introduction of Black Krrsantan was a big win, but in terms of who else The Book of Boba Fett brought to the table in terms of world-building, it was slim pickings.
From the frankly bizarre cameo of bass virtuoso Thundercat to an underused Danny Trejo as the Rancor trainer, The Book of Boba Fett didn’t set itself up with new characters for season 2. Let's not even talk about the modded gang of dodgy-accent street punks.
As well as a fleeting appearance of Jabba the Hutt’s cousins, Rosario Dawson zipped in for no reason other than to set up her Ahsoka spin-off, meaning The Book of Boba Fett didn’t exactly build out its core cast. It’s a sad state of affairs when the chef robot that was affectionately named General Cleavous stands out more than most.
The return of classic Boba
Back in the day, Boba Fett was a stoic bounty hunter that said a grand total of four lines (five sentences) in George Lucas’ original trilogy. These days, he’s something of a chatty Sally, with lead actor Temuera Morrison even agreeing that Boba had too much to say in season 1.
Whether it was chilling in his bacta tank or strolling around the streets of Mos Espa, Boba was also more than happy to show us the face beneath the helmet. As the Armorer will tell you, that’s a big no in Mandalorian 101.
We understand that Boba was originally a marketing ploy to sell toys, but there’s something missing from the cold-hearted hunter’s early days. The problem is, it’s hard to have a show where the lead doesn’t say anything.
A real villain
The late-stage introduction of Cad Bane was a triumph for Book - with this fan-favourite Clone Wars character making his mark. Despite grumbles that Bane kicked the bucket in underwhelming style, you need to remember this was the end of a very long road for his Star Wars canon. Sadly, Bane played second fiddle to the Pyke Syndicate as the de facto big bads.
Going full WandaVision/Mephisto on us, Rodriguez and co didn’t make good on the theories that Solo: A Star Wars Story’s Qi’ra was going to pop up as the puppet master. Composer Ludwig Göransson even included the Crimson Dawn music in his score, however, Qi’ra was nowhere to be seen and we were left with something of a villain-shaped hole.
From Vader to Ren to Palpatine (not you Snoke), Star Wars has dished up some amazing villains over the years. It’s a shame that The Book of Boba Fett delivered what was effectively a lacklustre version of the Mon Calamari.
Give us Mace Windu
Another idea that wasted its potential was the return of Samuel L Jackson as Mace Windu. We know the purple lightsaber-wielding hero appeared to meet his maker in Revenge of the Sith, but that hasn’t stopped the rumour mill from turning that he somehow survived.
Alongside Jackson himself championing Mace’s survival, Morrison told IMDb: “I owe him big time for my dad” and said he’d love for Boba and Windu to have a Kill Bill-inspired arc of vengeance. It was Mace who lopped off Jango Fett’s head in Attack of the Clones, while Book has just enough flashbacks to that fateful event to warrant the Jedi’s return.
As Boba Fett himself can testify, the franchise is known for its death fakeouts. We’d argue that Mace Windu stopping by in a potential season 2 would blow The Mandalorian’s Luke Skywalker moment out of the water. We’re talking No Way Home level of cameo here!
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No more majordomo
Let’s be honest, one of the weakest elements of the entire series was David Pasquesi’s insufferable Twi’lek, aka the unnamed majordomo. As The Phantom Menace proved with Jar Jar Binks, it’s possible for the franchise to create a character more hated than Sheev Palpatine.
Amy Sedaris’ Peli Motto is just on the right side of comedic inclusions, but when it comes to Book’s majordomo, it’s a lesson in how not to introduce a background character. Annoyingly, this unnamed character wasn’t Rancor fodder, and with a tease of a relationship between him and Motto, he’s destined to return. Sigh.
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