This article contains spoilers for The Book of Boba Fett.
Boba Fett has been a fan-favorite since his first appearance in the Star Wars Holiday Special back in 1978. Though he wouldn't appear in live-action fare until two years later in 1980's The Empire Strikes Back, something about the bounty hunter has kept audiences enrapt for decades. His popularity couldn't save him from what seemed like certain death, though. Return of the Jedi would see the legendary bounty hunter meet (what appeared to be at the time) his untimely end after getting bumped into the sarlaac pit by a blind and stumbling Han Solo.
The Bounty Hunter's story would continue, though. Marvel's Star Wars comic (set immediately after the events of Return of the Jedi) would see Fett escape the confines of the sarlaac and continue his story throughout multiple books from then on. However, these stories would later be retconned. Lucasfilm announced in April of 2014 that the expanded universe would be rebranded as Star Wars Legends, and the stories therein would no longer be considered canon.
The erasure of Star Wars Legends from the overall mythos would leave fans wondering what the heck happened to many of their favorite characters — Boba Fett included. The mystery would then deepen when the bounty hunter returned to the on-screen storyline by way of The Mandalorian in 2020. Since we know Star Wars' involved timeline sets The Mandalorian after Fett gets swallowed up by the sarlaac, fans once again found themselves wondering how the heck he survived a pit made of teeth and digestive acid. Slow digestive system or not, such a thing couldn't be an easy feat.
The Book of Boba Fett finally gave us some (canon) answers this week. With the first episode taking place between both the events after Return of the Jedi and immediately after Boba Fett and Fennec Shand depart from The Mandalorian, we see the full breakdown of what happened after the bounty hunter's fall.
In the past, we see that Boba Fett essentially battled his way out of the literal belly of the beast. But blasting out of the sarlaac pit isn't his only hurdle. Once he escapes, the bounty hunter sees Great Pit of Carkoon, the remains of Jabba the Hutt's sail barge, and nothing but the unforgiving Tatooine desert for miles. The guy's gonna need some help if he's to get out of this desert alive.
Help comes, if you consider "help" to mean Jawas mugging a near-dead Boba Fett to steal his armor. (Hey, it's gotta end up with Cobb Vanth somehow!) As if losing his armor wasn't enough, Fett's next desert obstacle would be a settlement of Tusken Raiders who seem to be keeping him alive just to beat him at first. We'll eventually learn that the Raiders want him to help dig for water to keep their people alive, but that's after a failed escape attempt and a whole lot of gaffi stick thwacks.
Boba Fett will face more trials in the desert, if this premiere's flashback format is to continue through the rest of the series. So far, we've seen them include a battle with a beefy, four-armed lizard that he would best via Leia's Jabba-killing move, and a weird rivalry with the Raiders' massiff. Still, his battle with the creature in the desert seems to have curried favor with his captors. Perhaps that means that he'll at least have a team for whatever he may face before crossing paths with Dinn Djarin in The Mandalorian.
Regardless of whatever additional hurdles Fett may come across in the past, we learn in the present that he's still not quite healed from them in the present. Whether it be the ramifications of spending time in the sarlaac's tummy, or some yet unseen battle, the bounty hunter is still going through healing treatments in the bacta pod when we meet up with he and Shand in the current timeline.
As is customary with Star Wars, with one answer comes many additional questions. What was your favorite moment of the Book of Boba Fett premiere? Sound off in it comments! And, for more, check out our The Book of Boba Fett review, and what to expect from Star Wars in 2022.
Amelia is the Streaming Editor here at IGN. She's also a film and television critic who spends too much time talking about dinosaurs, superheroes, and folk horror. You can usually find her with her dog, Rogers, and on Twitter @ThatWitchMia.
Continue reading...
Boba Fett has been a fan-favorite since his first appearance in the Star Wars Holiday Special back in 1978. Though he wouldn't appear in live-action fare until two years later in 1980's The Empire Strikes Back, something about the bounty hunter has kept audiences enrapt for decades. His popularity couldn't save him from what seemed like certain death, though. Return of the Jedi would see the legendary bounty hunter meet (what appeared to be at the time) his untimely end after getting bumped into the sarlaac pit by a blind and stumbling Han Solo.
The Bounty Hunter's story would continue, though. Marvel's Star Wars comic (set immediately after the events of Return of the Jedi) would see Fett escape the confines of the sarlaac and continue his story throughout multiple books from then on. However, these stories would later be retconned. Lucasfilm announced in April of 2014 that the expanded universe would be rebranded as Star Wars Legends, and the stories therein would no longer be considered canon.
The erasure of Star Wars Legends from the overall mythos would leave fans wondering what the heck happened to many of their favorite characters — Boba Fett included. The mystery would then deepen when the bounty hunter returned to the on-screen storyline by way of The Mandalorian in 2020. Since we know Star Wars' involved timeline sets The Mandalorian after Fett gets swallowed up by the sarlaac, fans once again found themselves wondering how the heck he survived a pit made of teeth and digestive acid. Slow digestive system or not, such a thing couldn't be an easy feat.
The Book of Boba Fett finally gave us some (canon) answers this week. With the first episode taking place between both the events after Return of the Jedi and immediately after Boba Fett and Fennec Shand depart from The Mandalorian, we see the full breakdown of what happened after the bounty hunter's fall.
In the past, we see that Boba Fett essentially battled his way out of the literal belly of the beast. But blasting out of the sarlaac pit isn't his only hurdle. Once he escapes, the bounty hunter sees Great Pit of Carkoon, the remains of Jabba the Hutt's sail barge, and nothing but the unforgiving Tatooine desert for miles. The guy's gonna need some help if he's to get out of this desert alive.
Help comes, if you consider "help" to mean Jawas mugging a near-dead Boba Fett to steal his armor. (Hey, it's gotta end up with Cobb Vanth somehow!) As if losing his armor wasn't enough, Fett's next desert obstacle would be a settlement of Tusken Raiders who seem to be keeping him alive just to beat him at first. We'll eventually learn that the Raiders want him to help dig for water to keep their people alive, but that's after a failed escape attempt and a whole lot of gaffi stick thwacks.
Boba Fett will face more trials in the desert, if this premiere's flashback format is to continue through the rest of the series. So far, we've seen them include a battle with a beefy, four-armed lizard that he would best via Leia's Jabba-killing move, and a weird rivalry with the Raiders' massiff. Still, his battle with the creature in the desert seems to have curried favor with his captors. Perhaps that means that he'll at least have a team for whatever he may face before crossing paths with Dinn Djarin in The Mandalorian.
Regardless of whatever additional hurdles Fett may come across in the past, we learn in the present that he's still not quite healed from them in the present. Whether it be the ramifications of spending time in the sarlaac's tummy, or some yet unseen battle, the bounty hunter is still going through healing treatments in the bacta pod when we meet up with he and Shand in the current timeline.
As is customary with Star Wars, with one answer comes many additional questions. What was your favorite moment of the Book of Boba Fett premiere? Sound off in it comments! And, for more, check out our The Book of Boba Fett review, and what to expect from Star Wars in 2022.
Amelia is the Streaming Editor here at IGN. She's also a film and television critic who spends too much time talking about dinosaurs, superheroes, and folk horror. You can usually find her with her dog, Rogers, and on Twitter @ThatWitchMia.
Continue reading...