Credit: LucasfilmSoon Star Wars fans will be transported back to the post-Galactic Empire world that Lucasfilm set up so interestingly in Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian. The Book of Boba Fett is set to debut this December, bringing back Temuera Morrison’s Boba Fett and Ming-Na Wen as Fennec Shand in their own Star Wars spinoff.
Production details have trickled in over the past few months, and with The Mandalorian Season 3 seemingly a long way off, the anticipation surrounding the next bounty hunter show is huge. Now, Shand actress, Wen, has revealed who is at the helm of The Book of Boba Fett.
The Mandalorian helped launched Disney+ back in November 2019. The first Lucasfilm original streaming show captivated the world with its new bounty hunter hero, Pedro Pascal’s Mando Din Djarin, and his pocket-sized companion, The Child AKA “Baby Yoda”. The nature of Favreau’s television show captured the gunslinging Western-themed style of George Lucas’s original trilogy and introduced new characters like Cara Dune (Gina Carano) and Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito).
Taking place five years after Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983), The Mandalorian‘s first season was quickly followed up with The Mandalorian Season 2 and it is here that Star Wars fans saw the return of a fan-favorite cult icon.
When Boba Fett appeared in “Chapter 14: The Tragedy” it shook the Star Wars fandom. Robert Rodriguez directed the action-packed, emotionally-charged episode that saw Mando Din Djarin, Boba Fett, and returning character, Fennec Shand, defend Grogu against Moff Gideon’s stormtroopers and dark troopers. They ultimately failed in their endeavor — it’s alright though, Grogu was eventually handed over, rather impressively, to Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) in the Season 2 finale.
If fans were already reeling from Hamill’s CGI appearance, The Mandalorian‘s post-credits scene shook the core of the Star Wars universe. Continuing the Star Wars franchise’s journey into small-screen live-action, The Book of Boba Fett was announced after Boba Fett and Fennec Shand executed a brutal attack on Jabba’s Palace, killing all those inside including Bib Fortuna. Boba Fett then sat atop Jabba’s throne and The Book of Boba Fett was launched.
We don’t know what direction the new series will take, or if other returning Mando characters like Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) will appear, but we do have a huge update thanks to Fennec Shand herself.
In a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight, Ming-Na Wen sat down with Ash Crossan to discuss her Star Wars career thus far, revealing it was a dream come true to finally appear in Lucasfilm’s iconic franchise — she has since gone on to appear in The Clone Wars animated series follow-up, Dave Filoni’s The Bad Batch. The actress also discussed information that the Star Wars studio hasn’t yet revealed.
Speaking about her character’s appearance and starring role in The Book of Boba Fett, Wen revealed that a certain Mandalorian director is the next Star Wars showrunner.
“I love working with Robert Rodriguez, he’s our showrunner, and of course Jon [Favreau] and Dave [Filoni] are always there as well, so it’s just a band of brothers and I’m one of the bros, I think.”
We know that Rodriguez has directed multiple episodes of the new series, but this is the first time we are hearing of the director being The Book of Boba Fett showrunner.
Favreau and Filoni being on-set at The Book of Boba Fett isn’t out of the ordinary — they both serve as executive producers along with Rodriguez and The Book of Boba Fett is effectively The Mandalorian Season 2.5. Then there is the fact that The Book of Boba Fett and The Mandalorian — along with the Ahsoka Tano series, Ahsoka — exist in the same timeline. Although Morrison has recently said we will get to see more of Boba’s past seemingly via flashbacks.
Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy seems to be trusting the team to continue their live-action success — it could even be a sign that Lucasfilm is moving away from Kennedy’s brand of Star Wars.
Rodriguez isn’t a stranger to the action-packed nature that can be found in the Star Wars galaxy. He directed Spy Kids (2001), co-directed the critically-acclaimed Sin City (2005), and most recently directed Alita: Battle Angel (2019). And if the intensity of his Mandalorian episode is anything to go by, it’s a safe bet that The Book of Boba Fett will be a rousing, thrilling new Star Wars story.
Are you even more excited for The Book of Boba Fett now Robert Rodriguez is confirmed as showrunner?