Why This Iconic 'Star Wars' Hero Should Be The Antagonist Of 'The Book of Boba Fett'
While filming for the series has finished, The Book of Boba Fett is not slated for release until approximately December 2021. The only characters confirmed to be in the show are Boba Fett (because the show is obviously about him) and Fennec Shand, who was next to him at the end of The Mandalorian season 2. Everything else is free game at this point. We do not really know the premise of the show. Will we see Boba Fett picking up where he left off in his bounty hunting career? Will he just sit at the top of Jabba the Hutt’s former crime syndicate, handing down jobs and contracts to subordinates and loosely allied bounty hunters? Will he be hands on and do the jobs himself? Will he branch out into other underworld business?
Another topic of discussion concerning The Book of Boba Fett is who his antagonist could be. In The Mandalorian, Boba Fett was the “good guy” as opposed to being portrayed as the villain as in The Clone Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. A good candidate for the antagonist opposite Boba Fett in the show is none other than Han Solo. From The Force Awakens, we know that after Return of the Jedi, Luke Skywalker was concentrating on rebuilding the Jedi Order. What was Han doing after Return of the Jedi? Did he stay with Leia to help her rebuild the Republic? Did he travel the galaxy with Chewbacca? The second scenario would more likely be due to his wanderlust nature. Granted, the books have painted a picture of what he does shortly after Return of the Jedi (starting a family with Leia and bringing Chewie home once Kashyyyk is liberated), but there is still more that can be done.
Going back to Boba Fett, The Mandalorian showed that he had his own code of honor. We saw him keeping his word above all else when he worked with Din Djarin to recover Grogu. He was also very pragmatic and methodical in the way he approached each situation, which made him a deadly opponent. As the War of the Bounty Hunters crossover event unfolds in the comics, we could see another side of his personality. He did not like being crossed. The last person to cross him was none other than Han Solo. Fett probably harbored hard feelings for the man responsible for his spending long tortuous time inside the sarlacc. With the the power and resources of Jabba the Hutt’s organization, he would be in the perfect position to take revenge against Han. This would also be a unique premise with Han as the antagonist. It is not common to see things from the point of view of “the bad guy,” as Fett went after whom we had always known as “the good guy.” After all, every villain is a hero in their own story.
On the flip side, maybe Han would want a showdown with Boba, too. What happened above the sarlacc pit was literally a blur, with Han blindly swinging a weapon around, accidentally hitting Boba’s jetpack, and sending him toward the sarlacc. Han had not encountered Boba since then, as the events pertaining to the Rebel Alliance and the destruction of the Second Death Star took precedence. News would soon spread of Boba’s overthrow of Jabba’s former organization. It would not be a surprise if Han paid a visit, as we are sure he would have some choice words for the man responsible for making him Jabba’s wall ornament.
In his interview with Rotten Tomatoes, Temuera Morrison had already told us that The Book of Boba Fett would take a look at the time period after The Empire Strikes Back. A whole year passed between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. A lot could happen to a person in one year, especially a busy bounty hunter like Boba Fett. Tying in the comics, the War of the Bounty Hunters crossover event introduced another player in this brewing criminal game, the Crimson Dawn. We already saw the return of Crimson Dawn in War of the Bounty Hunters #1 with Qi’ra, Han Solo’s former paramore, at its head. If she survived into the time of The Mandalorian, this would be a perfect opportunity for her to make an appearance as a potential underworld ally to Boba, or his opponent in his quest for vengeance. Either way, with Qi’ra and Crimson Dawn currently in the spotlight in the comics, we might see her in some sort of flashback scene related to Han Solo.
Having Han Solo in The Book of Boba Fett would open up many story opportunities for the series. It would bring in old familiar characters as well as introduce us to new ones. In the meantime, we could satisfy our appetite for Boba Fett with the War of the Bounty Hunters event currently going on in the comics. As the release date draws closer, we hope to get more teases to prove or disprove our own theories about the show.
Source(s): ComicBook.com, Screen Rant