There are popular movie franchises, and then there’s Star Wars. Entire generations grew up with the galaxy far, far away, resulting in a strong (and vocal) fanbase. While Lucasfilm recently announced three new Star Wars titles, a number of other projects were scrapped in the midst of the development process. That includes a movie all about everyone’s favorite bounty hunter Boba Fett. Writer Simon Kinberg recently compared that scrapped Boba Fett movie to a beloved superhero flick, and my FOMO is through the roof.
Considering how beloved Boba Fett is, it’s almost surprising that a movie surrounding that character never came to fruition. The Book of Boba Fett series is available for those with a Disney+ subscription, but there are still questions about his cancelled solo flick. X-Men writer/director Simon Kinberg recently spoke to Polygon, revealing that he was the one tasked with writing the dropped blockbuster. He revealed what that movie could have been like, saying:
Tonally like Logan. On the edge of R-rated, though I don’t think you’d have a Star Wars movie that could be R-rated. But at any rate, I think over time, my role morphed as a friend of the court. And so it ranged from being a consultant on the movies, give thoughts, notes, sometimes actual pages for scripts, and obviously co-creating Star Wars Rebels and really staying with that show that I loved. Part of what was so exciting about Rebels was that we were getting to do something that those movies I just mentioned didn’t entirely do, which is create a brand-new set of characters.
Well, now I’m extra bummed. It would have been great to see Boba Fett finally get his own story on the big screen, but it’s especially depressing to know that its tone would have been akin to James Mangold’s Oscar nominated film Logan. Is it too late to get Lucasfilm to change its mind?
Logan was released in 2017, and is widely considered the strongest entry in 20th Century Fox’s X-Men franchise. The movie stripped away the frills of the property, and instead focused on a human story and small cast. Logan’s emotional ending was acclaimed, and I have to wonder what would have happened to Boba Fett in Kinberg’s scrapped movie.
The development of the Boba Fett movie came as the Star Wars franchise was experimenting with the concept of standalone films. Rogue One was the first of these projects, and was a critical and box office success. But when Solo: A Star Wars Story became the franchise’s first box office disappointment, the studio seemingly abandoned the concept of these solo movies. That includes the Boba Fett flick, as well as one about Jabba the Hutt.
In the end, Boba Fett would take center stage in the shows The Mandalorian as well as The Book of Boba Fett. It’s unclear what comes next for the character, or if he’ll pop up in Dave Filoni’s developing Star Wars movie.
Boba Fett’s tenure in the Star Wars franchise (both TV and film) is currently streaming on Disney+. Be sure to check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.