Disney+ has announced the release date for Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett, spinning off from The Mandalorian‘s second season.
Of all the behelmeted characters that have grabbed the hearts of Star Wars fans, Boba Fett is second fiddle only to Darth Vader. Now Disney and Lucasfilm have revealed the debut of the infamous bounty hunter’s first real starring role—December 29, a belated holiday gift.
Boba Fett met an untimely—and frankly embarassing—end in The Return of the Jedi, but last December he was revealed to have survived the Sarlaac pit when he reappeared in season 2 of The Mandalorian. First his iconic armor resurfaced, and then the man himself, portrayed helmetless for the first time and by Temeura Morrison, who played his father Jango Fett in the Prequel films.
Morrison’s guest turn as Boba Fett made a big wave, not only for confirming the character’s fate but for updating his appearance and fighting style—which has led to the announcement of The Book of Boba Fett. The series was announced in a post-credits scene in The Mandalorian‘s explosive season finale, showing Fett and his new partner-in-crime Fennec Shand taking over Jabba the Hutt’s palace.
The official synopsis given so far suggests the series will largely take place on Tatooine, claiming it finds Fett and Shand “navigating the Galaxy’s underworld when they return to the sands of Tatooine to stake their claim on the territory once ruled by Jabba the Hutt and his crime syndicate.” It seems likely that it will also touch upon some of the character’s history, or at least how he escaped the Sarlaac pit.
Morrison stars in The Book of Boba Fett alongside Ming-Na Wen as Shand, but no other casting announcements have been made yet. The Mandalorian creators Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni are executive producers, alongside Kathleen Kennedy and Colin Wilson from Lucasfilm, and Robert Rodriguez, who directed Fett’s big return in The Mandalorian‘s Chapter 14. Composer Ludwig Göransson will handle the score again.
Similar to The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett will rotate directors, with Rodriguez, Favreau, Filoni, and Bryce Dallas-Howard named so far. Rodriguez recently claimed, “It’s going to blow your mind. That’s all I can say. I can talk it up all I want, because I know it over-delivers. It way over-delivers. People are going to be so pumped when they see it.”
The season finale of Marvel’s Hawkeye will also debut on Disney+ December 29, making this a big day for fans of both franchises. No word has been given on the number of episodes, but The Book of Boba Fett will surely give Star Wars fans a lot to chew on while waiting for fellow spin-off Ahsoka and the third season of The Mandalorian.
