Since the beginning of Disney’s venture with “Star Wars,” there were questions about how “Star Wars” as a franchise would grow. Questions were raised about how the franchise would adapt to a world without the Skywalkers and the characters from the original trilogy.
Many of those questions were answered with “The Mandalorian,” which became a household story that will be a large part of the “Star Wars” community in the future. “The Mandalorian” took us one step farther by reintroducing older characters, like the bounty hunter Boba Fett.
Boba Fett, then, got his own series with “The Book of Boba Fett” — a series about how Boba Fett survived the events of “Return of the Jedi” and what happened before his appearance in “The Mandalorian.”
The most recent episode — the second of the series — is a clear indication that there is a path forward for the “Star Wars” franchise, as long as “Book of Boba Fett” remains a guiding light for future projects.
The second episode — titled “Chapter 2” — focused on Boba Fett’s growth as a member of the Tusken Raiders, a group of who lived in the Dune Sea and who had often been perceived as villains. In this episode, we see Boba Fett adopt the ways of the Raiders and become more understanding of their culture. We see him learn how to fight as a Raider and how to perform ceremonies as a member of their tribe. It’s a remarkable way for “Star Wars” to give us more information about a group of characters we had only seen in brief moments during the main movies.
At the same time, we’re treated to some fantastic “Star Wars” moments that show how fun this franchise could be moving forward. For example, there’s a point where Boba Fett is confronted by a dangerous gladiator Wookie, which made my jaw drop. At the same time, we meet Jabba the Hutt’s cousins, who want a claim to Jabba’s throne. Again, it’s a small but exciting moment that reminds us we’re in the “Star Wars” universe and that there are plenty of events going on outside the main Skywalker storyline.
Later in the episode, as we’re shown a flashback of Boba Fett’s time with the Tusken Raiders, we see Boba Fett and the Raiders perform a train heist — something is only seen once before in “Solo: A Star Wars Story.” I didn’t think we’d ever see a train soar across the Tatooine landscape, but alas, that’s exactly what we saw. It’s another brief moment that will excite any “Star Wars” fan who is looking for more cultural moments from the galaxy far, far away.
The beauty of “The Book of Boba Fett” is that it’s embracing the “Star Wars” universe of characters and cultures. This is a path for the future of “Star Wars.” For a while, the franchise has seemed stuck between moving into the future or staying in the past. “The Book of Boba Fett” is an example of both working simultaneously together. It’s focusing on a well-liked and original character in Fett, while also giving us new information about Fett’s motivation, character and personality. We’re learning more about the “Star Wars” universe at large, giving us more characters, environments and stories to explore.
“The Book of Boba Fett” won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. It won’t satisfy those who want to get off the planet Tatooine or who are sick of bounty hunter stories. But it’s offering a road map for the future of the franchise, one that has a foot dipped into the pool of the past and another on the map of the future.