Why the prospect of a Boba Fett movie does not inspire confidence

Didn’t Lucasfilm kill the Boba Fett movie? Why resurrect this movie instead of focusing on other, possibly more interesting stories?

Remember the asteroid field in The Empire Strikes Back? You know how Han Solo expertly flies to an asteroid to hide on and then escapes the space slug despite the odds, which he demands not to be told? What Lucasfilm keeps doing is like if Han had suddenly lost all piloting skills and just kept flying the Millennium Falcon into every single asteroid, basically ruining the entire film. First it was giving Rian Johnson a trilogy of films despite Johnson needing to explain everything about the film he’s already directed. Second, it was giving David Benioff and Dan Weiss their own series of films. And now we get to the resurrection of the Boba Fett movie, with James Mangold directing.

Now, to be fair, Mangold is a fine director. Logan is a great movie. It even scored an Oscar nomination!

But wow, it’s hard to get hype about another Star Wars movie about a character we already know and don’t need to know more about directed by a man. A Lando Calrissian movie, we can support, because Donald Glover appears to be great. Another Obi-Wan Kenobi movie, sure, because Ewan McGregor is very interested in coming back.

But Boba Fett? Lucasfilm tried this before, and the film died an ignominious death. Bringing Boba back for the prequel trilogy also didn’t do anyone any favors; even though Jango Fett, his sort-of-but-not-really dad (cloning makes things complicated), made a strong impression, Boba’s basically another whiny teen in a trilogy dominated by the whiniest of whiny characters, Anakin Skywalker.

If this is an attempt to redeem Boba, it feels unnecessary. His appearances in the original trilogy still hold up. Being specifically told “No disintegrations!” by Darth Vader goes a long way in that regard.

Next: Solo: A Star Wars Story doesn't fly

Star Wars can explore other stories at this point. Rogue One felt like a step in the right direction in that regard. Solo seemed more like a step back, and to be honest, resurrecting a Boba Fett movie feels like it’s just more of the same.

Oh, and Lucasfilm? Please hire someone different and exciting to direct a movie.