Unlike in Las Vegas, what happens at the Saarlac Pit doesn't happen at the Saarlac Pit, which is good news for Disney+ and "Star Wars" fans. Enter "The Book of Boba Fett," which is back where it all began on the sands of Tatooine, an additional, almost silent premiere episode filled with a dizzying arsenal of callbacks to the franchise's past.
Dspite being presumed dead in "The Return of the Jedi", the armor-clad bounty hunters escaped that fate, a history recounted in a series of flashbacks that open the episode. In fact, executive producers Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, and Robert Rodriguez gleefully delved into a "Star Wars" grab bag and feel free to satisfy that fan's appetite for as many references as they could in 40 minutes or so. He did this by including the character in "The Mandalorian".
Those scenes reveal what Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) endured in the wake of his defeat and the loss of his armor, before jumping into the present, where he and fellow assassin Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen) take control of the criminal. had accepted. The empire was once headed by Jabba the Hutt.
"Jabba ruled with fear," Boba Fett told him. "I intend to rule with honor."
What the honor means in the Jungles of Tatooine remains to be seen, but the two almost immediately face an assassination attempt, so their admiration, and resting on the throne, doesn't seem to be in the cards.
Like "The Mandalorian", "Boba Fett" approximates the texture of an old Western, though its roots are even more direct as it taps into "Star Wars" lore. As a bonus for science-fiction and fantasy lovers, the addition of familiar creatures looked like a tribute to special effects magician Ray Harryhausen in the premiere, with knowing how Jabba got his end as the cherry on top.
The premiere didn't have many clues, frankly, as to where the overall story is headed, but with such abundance and "Star Wars" nostalgia, nor was it really needed.
More than anything, "The Book of Boba Fett" captures the impression of a group of weaners on "Star Wars" essentially playing with action figures as children in an actual series. given the opportunity to change. For anyone with a similar affinity with these tales, the almost irresistible temptation is to dive straight in with them, until you can almost feel Tatooine's sand between your toes.