Boba Fett is my all-time favorite Star Wars character, and I don’t have Disney+. I never thought these two things would be a problem but here we are!
Yes, this week’s installment focuses on The Book of Boba Fett. It’s literally one of two Star Wars series that I want to see. (The other is The Mandalorian, which should come as no surprise.) The problem is that I don’t have Disney+. I also don’t want to subscribe to another streaming service. Not for two shows, anyway. In the past, I’ve castigated our blogmaster Stuart Sweet for doing the same thing. Getting Disney+ now would make me a hypocrite, and you’d be right to call me out on it. None of this changes the fact that I still want to see this show!
I guarantee that you’ll want to see The Book of Boba Fett after watching this trailer:
Fine! I’m a Boba Fett Fanboy!
I stand before you guilty as charged on that count. I became enamored with the enigmatic bounty hunter since The Empire Strikes Back. I had the Mattel action figure and even the Boba Fett Pez dispenser! I was also crushed by his rather inglorious death in Return of the Jedi. For those who don’t remember, Han Solo accidentally smashed Fett’s jet pack. This sent Boba rocketing into the hungry mouth of the Sarlacc.
But that wasn’t the end of the toughest person to ever don the prestigious Mandalorian armor.
In 1996, a Star Wars novel was released. It was called A Barve Like That: The Tale of Boba Fett. It describes how Fett eventually escapes the dreaded Sarlacc Pit. Since the book was licensed by Star Wars, this little fact became canon. Boba Fett lives! And now someone has decided to make a TV series about his further adventures! Note: I don’t know how closely The Book of Boba Fett may or may not follow the story in that book.
Let’s Talk About This New Series
This has all the hallmarks of being a winner. First of all, it stars Temuera Morrison as Boba Fett. Morrison portrayed Jango Fett in subsequent Star Wars movies and The Mandalorian series. It makes perfect sense to cast him as Boba. As you might know, Bob is an unaltered clone of Jango. (Jango raised him as his son.) Longtime fans of the series will appreciate the authenticity.
I’m equally excited by who was chosen to direct the pilot episode. That honor fell to none other than Robert Rodriguez. He made a name for himself in the 1990s with three films: Desperado, From Dusk Till Dawn, and The Faculty. (If you ever get the chance to watch his first film, El Mariachi (1992), do so immediately!) Rodriguez directed many more successful movies and shows in the following years.
I guess I’m a fanboy here too because I think Rodriguez is perfect for this pilot. Even casual watchers of his work know this guy has an eye for action sequences. I’m sure The Book of Boba Fett is filled with them. The trailer all but spells that out for us. Rodriguez also knows how to build tension that leads up to his violent conclusions. Like I said, the producers couldn’t have picked a better director for this pilot. I have no idea if Rodriguez will stay on to direct the subsequent episodes, however.
So, What’s a Boba Fett Fanboy to Do?
The easy answer is for me to bite the bullet and get a subscription to Disney+. If money is the concern, I’m sure you’ll tell me to unsubscribe after watching the last episode of The Book of Boba Fett. That’s not even a good short-term solution though. Right now, the pilot is the only show available. I don’t know how many episodes there will be, or how many seasons this might run. I don’t want to spend the next couple of years subscribing then ditching this service just to save a few bucks.
You know what’s more important to me than money? My pride. I can’t get Disney+ now. I’ve bashed on the streaming service more than once in this column. More importantly, there’s the issue of subscribing to a service for just one or two shows. I’ve panned Stuart Sweet for foolishly subscribing to CBS All Access just to watch Star Trek: Discovery. (He was gravely disappointed and embittered by the experience.) If I cave for Boba Fett, I’ll never hear the end of it from him. (And I’d deserve it, too.) Then again…
Stuart Might be the Answer to My Problem
Check this out! Stuart is a Disney+ subscriber. He’s also invited me to visit him out in California. He even promised to take me to all the best restaurants. Maybe just maybe I could fly out there after the series drops and bingewatch the whole thing with him. Granted, he’s more of a Trekkie than a Star Wars fan, but I know he’s crossed over to “the other side” for at least a few shows. Maybe he’d do it again?
On second thought, this is a disastrous idea. First of all, he’d roast me about the cost of a plane ticket versus the streaming service’s monthly fee. Secondly, he’s already expressed some disinterest in the whole idea of a Boba Fett series. I heard him say, “What’s next? 12 episodes of Porkins’ back story? And after that, are we going to get a History Channel documentary on mouse droids?” His constant griping and grousing would ruin the whole experience for me.
What’s a frustrated Fett fanboy to do?
