‘Star Wars’ Fans Hate Franchise’s New “Cyborg Power Rangers”

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boba fett and fennec shand with biker gang

Credit: Lucasfilm

Star Wars fans waited 376 days for a new live-action series following The Mandalorian Season 2 finale episode, which saw the return of Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker (CGI Mark Hamill) as he rescued Grogu (AKA “Baby Yoda”), Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), Cara Dune (Gina Carano), Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff), Koska Reeves (Sasha Banks), and Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen) from near-certain death at the hands of Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) and his Dark Trooper squad onboard his Imperial starship.

women of the mandalorian
Credit: Lucasfilm

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Then, Mandalorian spinoff, The Book of Boba Fett, came along — it premiered on December 29, 2021 — and transported Star Wars fans back to a very familiar location, the desert planet of Tatooine.

The circumbinary planet is the first location movie goers ever saw in the Star Wars universe in the opening shot of George Lucas’s Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977), and it remains one of the galaxy’s most iconic locations.

tatooine luke
Credit: Lucasfilm

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Over the course of three episodes so far, Star Wars fans have been on a bit of an emotional roller coaster as they’ve watched legendary bounty hunter Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) and mercenary assassin Shand navigate Tatooine’s criminal underworld after killing Bib Fortuna (Michael Carter) and taking Jabba the Hutt’s palace as their own.

book of boba fett temuera morrison
Credit: Lucasfilm

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From calling the first episode “disappointingly short” and feeling like “nothing happened” — although Fett’s Sarlacc pit escape was finally explained after 38 years — to finding the second installment “more compelling than The Mandalorian,” many viewers still aren’t quite sure where to land on The Book of Boba Fett.

book of boba fett biker gang
Credit: Lucasfilm

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Then, Episode 3, which was directed by series showrunner Robert Rodriguez, introduced a Mos Espa biker gang into the Star Wars story. Fans are sharply divided about the mod gang’s general existence, and they’ve taken to social media to express their opinions.

Ishan responded to the official Star Wars account:

That gang and their hideous bikes remind me of power rangers. In fact they also act like some B-Movie actors.

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Renan sarcastically posted:

Boba should AT LEAST have lost an arm and have his spine shattered fighting against that Gladiator Wookie [sic: Wookiee]. He fought without any protection!

After that, the cyborg power rangers could have helped Boba to get a cybernetic arm and fix his spine also. This would make this gang more useful in this episode.

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Natural 1 is clearly not sold on the entire plot of the Rodriguez-directed installment:

The new Star Wars movies failed because they didn’t have this creative energy:
“What if Boba Fett had to rob a train?”
“Yeah! On a speeder bike!”
“No no – he has a gang of bada** speeder bikes!”
“Yo… Yo. Tusken Raiders on speeder bikes.”
“Aw sh** aw sh** yeah”
:tusken yells:

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April doesn’t mind the idea of the gang, but is completely unsure of their appearance, which has been a common complaint among fans all week:

It’s all cool if Boba needs to hire a gang of street youths but…make them look like they actually belong in the #StarWars universe.

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However, some fans are supportive of what Rodriguez, Dave Filoni, and Mandalorian creator Jon Favreau are trying to do with the gang, which many have compared to the cast of Quadrophenia. Lhivera wrote:

Yeah, it seems like a lot of people didn’t get the “mod gang” joke…which was especially clever given the depressed working class Mos Espa is exactly the sort of environment the subculture came from.

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Finally, Klaus Bromi thinks the gang is the most “George Lucas” thing to happen since Disney bought Lucasfilm, Ltd. in 2012:

I have not liked a lot of Book of Boba Fett, but loved everything about all of these characters. The street gang might be the most George Lucas thing in Disney Star Wars.

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In addition to the introduction of these new characters, who will seemingly play a key role in the second half of the seven-episode season, fans are still expecting a number of cameos moving forward.

cobb vanth and din djarin
Credit: Lucasfilm

Grogu is reportedly set to appear, for example, and many fans are also hoping for cameos by Timothy Olyphant’s Marshal Cobb Vanth, and, of course, Harrison Ford’s Han Solo — CGI, obviously — but showrunner Robert Rodriguez and other members of the crew have yet to confirm any details regarding special appearances by Star Wars fan-favorites.

What do you think about the biker gang in The Book of Boba Fett so far?

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