‘The Mandalorian’ Has Killed Our Chance for a Boba Fett Film – For Now
It seems Disney has become a bit gun-shy with its golden goose, pulling back on plans for a Star Wars-spinoff film featuring fan favorite character Boba Fett.
Reports say the long-rumored Boba Fett film, the movie most fans had been hoping for, has been shelved. It begs the question: how did we get to this point?
When Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012, it seemed they could do no wrong. Disney announced new “Episode” films and spinoff movies, which included rumors of standalone Obi-Wan and Boba Fett movies.
Those plans went awry, however, after the lukewarm response to The Last Jedi. Fans disliked the treatment of classic characters, the change in tone, and poor choices in the narrative. The fan backlash to the film killed the enthusiasm for Solo: A Star Wars Story, which bombed at the box office despite mostly positive reviews.
Star Wars merchandise sales (Lucasfim’s lifeblood) have tanked, although no one is officially admitting that. A look at the myriad of Star Wars toys, clothes, and other merchandise that have shown up in clearance aisles and closeout stores seems to confirm that, however.
To add insult to injury, Lucasfilm took an aggressive stance on social media towards unhappy fans, with some high-profile employees dismissing their complaints and branding them as sexist trolls.
Enter the Mandalorian
Disney is now hoping to win back many disgruntled fans, and perhaps win over new converts, by pulling back on releasing feature films every year. Disney’s new streaming service, which launches in 2019, will offer Star Wars fans a number of viewing choices, in addition to the newer films that will shift over from Netflix.
Disney has announced that “The Clone Wars” is returning for a final season on the service. and their more recent announcement of the series “The Mandalorian” was met with overwhelming approval.
"The Mandalorian" Set Robbed!: https://t.co/poHdp6Iseq pic.twitter.com/sHgR3FaN1b
— Eric Shirey (@TheEricShirey) October 28, 2018
Still, it was shocking when the Fett film was shelved, with the Jon Favreau-executive produced “Mandalorian” getting prioritized. Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy told journalist Erick Weber that the film was indeed dead, and “Mandalorian” appears to be their main focus for spinoffs.
That doesn’t mean we may never see a Boba Fett film. It just means that, more likely than not, we won’t see the a Fett film written and directed by James Mangold, which was the original plan.
Josh Trank has been attached to the Boba Fett film as far back as 2014, but after his film Fantastic Four bombed, Lucasfilm and Trank went their separate ways.
Before cameras ever roll on a Boba Fett film, however, Lucasfilm has to win back its fans. It has to get the Star Wars juggernaut rolling again, and that means taking smaller risks which could pay off big. It’s why they are willing to bet on a streaming TV series instead of a feature film.
Bringing back fans won’t be an easy task, but it’s a bounty they hope “The Mandalorian” can reel in. With episodes being directed by “Star Wars: Rebels” executive producer Dave Filoni, Deborah Chow (“Jessica Jones”), Rick Famuyiwa (Dope), Bryce Dallas Howard and Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok), it seems they are betting big on the series.
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