How ‘The Book Of Boba Fett’ Could Connect To ‘The War Of The Bounty Hunters’
It’s been nearly a year since we learned about the upcoming Book of Boba Fett Disney + series, which premiers on December 29. Five months later, Marvel premiered the War of the Bounty Hunters crossover event with War of the Bounty Hunters: Aphra #1. Two bounty hunter-adjacent titles within five months of each other. Coincidence? I dare say no. I’m here to tell you there will be some bleeding over from War of the Bounty Hunters to The Book of Boba Fett, but not in the way you might think.
Since Lucasfilm took a step back a few years ago, it’s evident their strategy has changed, and their direction has as well. They’re more focused on where they want to go, which works for everyone. And they’re not afraid to release non-canon material, which is also fun. But the return of the younger Fett in The Mandalorian, and his feature in the War of the Bounty Hunters crossover, there’s no doubt Lucasfilm is building up to something with The Book of Boba Fett.
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The recently released trailer for the aforementioned TV series is less than two minutes long, so there isn’t much to glean from it, but there’s enough to say Boba Fett is a changed man. He’s always been a businessman, he’s the best bounty hunter in the galaxy because it was never personal; it’s always been just a job.
Without giving too much of the story away, The War of the Bounty Hunters covers when Fett is in transit to Jabba, with Han Solo freshly frozen in carbonite. Not far into the journey, things go sideways for Fett. He has to make a pitstop, and during that stop, Solo disappears. Now Fett has to prove to Jabba that he didn’t sell Solo to someone else, and until then, Jabba has set a bounty on Fett himself, which he doesn’t take kindly to.
War of the Bounty Hunters spans 34 total issues spanning the main title, Star Wars, Darth Vader, Doctor Aphra, Bounty Hunters, and the eponymous book title. As the series progresses, we witness Fett’s brutality, cruelty, self-preservation, and calculating personality. It’s no secret that Fett succeeds in delivering Solo to Jabba, but it’s what Fett had to go through and how he was treated by his employer that ultimately alters his perspective.
Keeping in mind this event occurs between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, approximately five and a half years before The Book of Boba Fett. As such, I’m not saying there will be direct links between the two, I don’t think characters will crossover (although I secretly hope we see Valance in the series), but I’m sure we’ll see the result of one story in the other.
The first hint that Fett is a changed man is from the trailer when he says, “I’m not a bounty hunter.” Oh really? Either Fett is full of it, or he’s changed careers. And Fett doesn’t strike me as a guy who jokes around. So why the switch? Is he searching for something more? Is he a crime lord now?
Fett’s been through the wringer, maybe he no longer sees the galaxy through isolationist eyes and he realizes he needs people to achieve his goals. At one point, the Hutts ruled Tatooine, but The War of the Bounty Hunters showed us that the entire Hutt council was wiped out except Jabba before Return of the Jedi. This explains why the Hutts didn’t make a play for Jabba’s palace after his death at the hands of Leia Organa. So Jabba’s death, coupled with the Empire’s defeat, left a large power vacuum in the galaxy. This makes complete sense when we see pirates and bandits terrorizing farmers in The Mandalorian.
Perhaps after his experience with delivering Solo to Jabba, Boba has a new perspective. Maybe he wants to unify the underworld in a way similar to Michael Corleone; with an iron fist but with respect and honor. Is Boba attempting to start a criminal empire like Maul? We know Maul worked with Qi’ra and Crimson Dawn, and now the Dawn has returned in the War of the Bounty Hunters and is building towards something greater in the upcoming series, Crimson Reign.
I’m super excited for The Book of Boba Fett because I’m sure the story will flesh out his character more than Empire or Jedi had time for, making him one of the most intriguing characters in the saga. Of course, not everyone can be good or evil. But everyone has good and evil within themselves, which makes Boba Fett more human than most.
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Source(s): Wookieepedia