Unanswered Questions That The Book Of Boba Fett Needs To Address
The original "Star Wars" trilogy is full of so many unforgettable, amazing characters that are now household names. Yet while Luke, Han, Chewie, Leia, R2-D2, C-3PO, Vader, Obi-Wan and Yoda take up the majority of the screen time, one of the most legendary fan favorites only has two lines: Boba Fett.
Maybe it's because Boba exudes a cool, quiet, tough cowboy swagger reminiscent of Clint Eastwood's Man with No Name. Maybe it's because he's able to outsmart Han Solo, one of the cleverest rogues in the galaxy. Maybe it's just because his armor looks so cool. Whatever the reason, this relatively minor character who got his onscreen start in a much-maligned holiday cartoon has captivated imaginations for over four decades.
Without Boba Fett, there probably wouldn't be a Jango Fett, no backstory about how the first Stormtroopers were Fett clones, and no hit Disney+ series "The Mandalorian." This was likely part of the inspiration behind bringing Boba Fett back towards the end of Season 2 of the hit series. As a reward for the indelible mark Boba Fett has left on the world, the bounty hunter has his own show on the way: "The Book of Boba Fett."
Finally Boba will be front and center, and while "The Book of Boba Fett" will probably be amazing — given what the team did with "The Mandalorian" — there are several big questions about the man in green you can't help but hope get answered in his first star vehicle.
What's the story behind Boba painting his armor?
The first screen appearance of Boba Fett, as a cartoon character in the much-maligned 1978 "Star Wars Holiday Special," showed him in white with pastel yellow and green armor. He did appear in a parade in the trademark armor shortly before the airing but it's unlikely many people knew who he was other than some guy in a cool helmet walking next to Darth Vader, the coolest guy in the coolest helmet. In "The Empire Strikes Back," Boba appears for the first time onscreen in his trademark green, battle-scarred armor.
Yet when we see Jango Fett's armor in "Attack of the Clones," it's shiny silver — as is the armor of most of the foundling Mandalorians in "The Mandalorian." In "The Mandalorian" we also discover that Jango was in fact a foundling as well (explaining why it's so silver), and that Boba inherited his armor from his father. Which means Boba's green armor used to be Jango's silver armor. So why did Boba Fett paint his armor the colors he did, even adding a few decals? Hopefully there'll be some sort of revelations as to the bounty hunter's trademark color scheme.
How did Boba survive the Sarlacc but lose his armor?
In a 1983 comic, "Star Wars" #81, Boba Fett is shown exiting the Pit of Carkoon, but since these comics are no longer canon, we still don't know how Boba Fett escaped the Sarlacc. Obviously killing off such an amazing fighter in such an ignominious way (Han accidentally triggered his jet pack? Really?) may not sit well for such a beloved character. Thanks to "The Mandalorian," we finally know that Boba did definitely survive the pit. So the question now is ... how did he make it out?
Even more, when we see Boba's armor first in "The Mandalorian" Season 2 episode "The Marshal," Tatooine frontier lawman Cobb Vanth is found wearing it in his job as marshal. Eventually Fett himself emerges, in "The Tragedy," looking for the armor, which means that not only did he survive the Sarlacc Pit, he must have done this either without his armor or lost his armor in the process of escaping. Either way, there's obviously a great story there just waiting to be told.
Is Omega Fett still alive?
"The Clone Wars" series gave "Star Wars" fans everything they'd hoped for from the prequels: epic battles, more backstory for everybody from Boba Fett to Anakin, and dynamic storytelling. When the series got canceled, it was allegedly due to its darker tone — specifically as Boba became the hunter he would be, which didn't fit Cartoon Network. That's just one of many reasons "The Bad Batch" was so exciting for "Star Wars" fans. Another great development in "The Bad Batch" is the revelation that Boba Fett had a sister, named Omega, and she briefly befriended her clone "brothers" in the Bad Batch in fleeing the Empire. A female Boba Fett is everything the "Star Wars" universe needed, and her fate was left up in the air as the short series ended.
"The Bad Batch" also reveals that Boba was originally named Alpha and Omega came along next, an unaltered but still supercharged clone. Given the fact that Boba is still alive and well, Omega could obviously still be around and fighting — and what a fighter she would be. Unless she died of unnatural causes, of course.
Does Boba know about Omega and Fennec?
Let's start with the first part of the question: Does Boba Fett know that there's another unaltered Jango Fett clone? That is, does he know that he has a sister? And if he does know, does he want to join up with her or have they already crossed paths as enemies? It would be interesting to see how much he knows about her and her past — especially her past run-ins with his new sidekick Fennec Shand.
In "The Bad Batch," we see Fennec Shand hunting down her bounty quarry: Omega. The two have some serious collisions, and while Omega escapes, Fennec still vows to catch her. Since Fennec is still alive in "The Mandalorian," did she kill Omega? How does Boba feel about that — and if he doesn't know about Omega or their connection, how will he feel about that? There's a lot of personal drama ready to be played out in the Boba-Omega-Fennec triangle and we're waiting to see the explosions happen.
Will Shand get her helmet back on, and will she stay with Boba?
Boba and Fennec both have cool masks that look similar to those worn by medieval knights. Boba's is better-known and more warrior-like while Fennec's has more of an art deco Cloud City vibe. For that reason, their masks are perfect complements to each other. Since she's been going mostly maskless in her appearances with Boba, one has to wonder if Fennec Shand will ever don hers again — but let's hope so since the helmeted duo would look badass together. If they even stay together.
Yes, Fennec Shand says she owes her life to Boba Fett since he did find her and use some complex robotics to keep her alive. But how long will these two bounty hunters be able to remain a team? Boba has had many partners along the way and those alliances never lasted. How long will Fennec Shand, a tough bounty hunter herself, be okay playing his sidekick? The Boba-Fennec duo may be dynamite but at some point dynamite detonates.
Which Boba friends will return and how?
In "The Clone Wars," we see young Boba learning the bounty hunter trade under the tutelage of Bossk and two other hunters, Aurra Sing (known for her brief appearance in "The Phantom Menace") and Castas, who, as the elders, were also in charge of the Slave I vessel. As bounty hunters in "The Clone Wars," of course at some point they meet up with Hondo Ohnaka. At one point they formed a bounty hunters' collective including Dengar, one of the hunters to show up on the bridge of Vader's Star Destroyer in pursuit of the Millennium Falcon. And then there's Cad Bane, the greatest bounty hunter during the Clone Wars period. Even Dooku's apprentice Assajj Ventress joined up with the bounty hunters. Plus Boba had run-ins with 4LOM and Zuckuss, two of the other bounty hunters who'd been on Vader's Star Destroyer.
"Star Wars" top producer Dave Filoni showed an unaired battle between Bane and Boba in a Star Wars Celebration panel in 2017, but hasn't provided any more information as to the current whereabouts of Cad Bane — or really any of Boba Fett's top competitors and uneasy partners. Will they now be coming for Boba? Or will he be coming for them? Or will they team up again, and then betray each other?
The biggest question is: will we finally see a live-action Hondo Ohnaka in a series, especially since he's got a prominent place in Disney's Galaxy's Edge theme park attraction?
How did Bib Fortuna survive the explosion of Jabba's sail barge?
Working our way back to the "current" timeline, the scene at the end of "The Mandalorian" Season 2 finale's credits shows Boba and Fennec infiltrating Jabba's palace. But the late crime lord's palace hasn't been left empty. Sitting atop of a throne mounted on top of Jabba's original throne is a (considerably more obese) Bib Fortuna. That is, until Boba shoots him dead and takes the throne for himself.
While this is mainly a teaser for "The Book of Boba Fett," it posits a question: How did Bib Fortuna survive the explosion on the sail barge? When last we saw him, Fortuna was laughing as Luke, Han, and Chewie were about to be pushed into the Pit of Carkoon. Of course, Luke and the rest mounted an epic escape resulting in the explosion of Jabba's sail barge. No ships are seen leaving the scene except for the skiff carrying our heroes, so how did Bib survive? And how did he take control of Jabba's palace, given that Jabba was a Hutt who also had a son? There are some big questions here and "Star Wars" fans want answers.
Will Boba Fett now be a gangster lord?
Boba Fett has been a bounty hunter almost from birth. First he worked under his father, Jango. Then he joined up with Bossk and company, again while still a kid. Once he was old enough, Boba Fett went it mostly alone. In the process he earned a reputation as one of the most effective and ruthless hunters in the trade. Given his tight relationship with Jabba the Hutt, and obviously his imperial connections, Boba was well-paid and had the ears of many of the most powerful baddies in the universe without any of the responsibilities. A life of true freedom.
But he's obviously getting up in years, and his near-death on Tatooine seems to have humbled him — at least enough that he helps Din Djarin in exchange for getting his armor back instead of just taking the armor and running. So when Season 2 of "The Mandalorian" ends with Boba Fett sitting down on a throne in Jabba's palace with Fennec at his side, you have to wonder: Is Boba Fett tiring of hanging out with the fatcats and ready to become one himself? Boba Fett, underworld king? It would be a big career change, and unlikely that such a wanderer would ever call one place home. Still, everybody deserves a second chance.
Will Boba Fett work for the early First Order?
Boba Fett obviously had no problem working for the Empire. As he told Din Djarin, he has no code he subscribes to. Boba's career has been as a mercenary, willing to take money from anybody willing to pay his fee, similar to how Djarin was at the beginning of "The Mandalorian." They both showed a willingness in the past to work with the Empire despite their status as foundlings (or in Boba's case, the son of a foundling).
Djarin's relationship with Grogu has moved him considerably in an anti-Empire direction, and Boba even joined him to mount an action against the remnants of the Empire (soon to evolve into the First Order). So Boba probably wouldn't be welcomed back with open arms. On the other hand, his skills would help the First Order overlook this betrayal. Though if he starts working for the Empire/First Order, perhaps at some point Boba and Din will cross paths as enemies. Given their first brief skirmish when Boba first finds Din, we can only imagine how amazing a full battle would be.
Will we see Boba disintegrate anybody?
When we first meet Boba Fett in "The Empire Strikes Back," Vader is briefing a group of bounty hunters. He makes sure to highlight one rule, stopping and staring straight at Boba as he says it: no disintegrations. Boba replies, with one of his few lines in the original trilogy: "As you wish."
It feels like an admonition from adult to child, and while Boba acts cool one has to wonder how he feels being spoken down to by a Force-wielder given his past problems with the Jedi. Either way, Vader's pointed accusation implies that Boba Fett has disintegrated a few of his quarries. In the canonical "Star Wars" anthology book "From a Certain Point of View," there's a Boba Fett story that details his previous disintegrations. Yet "The Book of Boba Fett" may finally show us just how this goes down. On second thought, do we want to see that? Yeah, probably.
Will Boba seek vengeance on Han, Luke, Leia and Chewie?
Boba spent a lot of his early years looking for vengeance for the death of his father by the saber of Mace Windu, so obviously he's not one to forgive and forget quickly. Or possibly ever. Along those lines, Boba Fett must also realize how his life and reputation were just destroyed by the rebellion in general and its main heroes specifically.
Leia killed Jabba, who wasn't only Boba Fett's employer but also the closest thing to a friend Boba had. Of course Luke had a big role in that as well. And Han (accidentally) sent Boba into the foul stomach of the Almighty Sarlacc. Plus they (again especially Luke) destroyed the Empire, probably one of the only other employers who could pay Boba Fett the large sums of money he likely demanded for his services. Now that Boba Fett may or may not be a gangster overlord, is his plan to rejoin the mercenary biz or is he ready to settle some personal scores? If it's the latter, there are some likely first targets.
Does Boba Fett make it to The Force Awakens?
Given Boba's popularity, it's odd that he didn't appear in the three recent sequels if he's still alive. Boba Fett would be pretty old if he made it there (though the fact that Rex and several of the accelerated clones making it to the time of the Battle of Yavin are proof that Fett genes make for long lives). So did he make it to that new era that begins with "The Force Awakens"?
Boba Fett could've been busy with other things as the First Order reared its head, like running a gangster organization, getting fat and ... happy? Or perhaps he had some ancillary missions and adventures during the rise of Rey. Or maybe he got killed. Does he make it to the end of the Skywalker saga, a feat only accomplished by Palpatine himself? We don't know how Boba Fett's story ends. But that's one of the reasons for reading books, right? And "The Book of Boba Fett" will hopefully show us how his story all ends too. Or at least show us if he makes it into being a cantankerous old lethal semi-retired bounty hunter.