From ‘Slave 1’ To ‘Boba Fett’s Starship’: The Bounty Hunter Rebrand Explained
Image Source: CultureSlate
“He’s no good to me dead.”
Boba Fett summed up his entire ethos and mercenary approach to life in just six words. This is a man who is willing to go toe-to-toe with the Dark Lord of the Sith to make sure he gets the most money possible on his Bounty.
This is also the man who had to be warned by the very same Dread Warrior to remember “No Disintegrators.” Who goes straight to Disintegrators? We can all agree, then. Not an anti-hero. Not a troubled noble soul. This is a villain.
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So why did the taciturn outlaw, contract killer, extortionist, and thief become a benevolent Robin Hood-like Hero in The Book of Boba Fett? Regardless of your opinion of the show, most viewers were confused at this 180°- character turn. Seemingly prompted by nothing, and, as such, speculation began to grow on the internet…
Redemption Is Trendy
Source Image: RetroZap
Over the last few years, cinema and TV have re-fallen in love with the Anti-Hero. A tough badass who skirts the law but inevitably ends up on the side of the Angels. For every Emperor Palpatine, there is a Darth Vader. Every Thanos, a Loki, Every Joffrey Lannister, a Jaime Lannister. From Kylo Ren to your Doctor Aphra’s, not many bad guys stay bad these days. Sometimes it’s just good to be bad.
Avoiding Stagnation
People love a juicy scenery-chewing villain. Watching them prowl along the screen, revelling in their wildest, darkest desires, is usually a delight to watch. But at what point would it get boring? John McLane got 3 films (that’s right, I said three), but Hans Gruber got only one. Perhaps some of the reasons these villains are so iconic is because they operate best in the shadows. When you shine a light for too long on it, it can become dull and stale.
Merchandise
Source Image: LEGO.com
It is easier these days to try and convince kids to pester their parents for “Boba Fett’s Starship” Lego set than a new Lego Slave 1. Whether you like it or not, in every decision Disney makes, merchandise is a large part of that.
Retroactively Moralising
The argument has been made many times that in the Original Trilogy, Boba Fett doesn’t actually do much other than look really cool and intimidating. Only in the now largely non-canon EU did he earn his badass bounty hunter spurs. So, if you take out him blasting Rebel officers to atoms (now the disintegration comment makes sense), being a hitman for Jabba, and wearing Wookie pelts as fashion accessories – it becomes a lot more palatable that he was “doing it all for the credits” and exists in that moral grey area that TV shows love so much.
It Was A Brave Mistake
The pressures of bringing this character to live action after so long were always immeasurable, and one should always resort to online trolling of the people involved. It could just be that this was a brave, creative choice that perhaps didn’t land how the showrunners wanted. But at least they tried something new – and should be lauded for that.
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