We’ve been hearing rumblings for a while now that the planned Boba Fett spinoff movie has been cancelled, and while we’re still waiting for that official announcement from the studio, we now have one more reason to believe that the bounty hunter has indeed been put out of action.
Critic Erick Weber went to a screening of Black Panther where some major Disney players were in attendance. Among the various intel he had to report, Weber relayed this info on the James Mangold-helmed project:
“Kathleen Kennedy just confirmed to me Boba Fett movie is 100% dead, 100% focusing on THE MANDALORIAN”
If this news is legit, then it hardly comes as a shock. For many fans, the Boba Fett movie’s death was all but confirmed when they saw the first image from The Mandalorian, which showed a character wearing nearly identical armor to the set once sported by The Empire Strikes Back star. With one lead already seen to be wearing the suit, it was unlikely that Lucasfilm would be delivering a second.
That being said, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Jon Favreau’s series share a few connections with the cherished character, with an early summary for the live-action show even mentioning Boba and his old man Jango by name.
There’s even been a theory going round this month that the Mandalorian in question is actually a human named Cobb Vanth, a gunslinger from the books who inherits the armor of Boba after the events of Return of the Jedi. Obviously, this is just speculation, but if the movie’s getting canned then this seems like a pretty appropriate metaphor.
In any case, though Mangold will likely never get to delve into the story of Boba Fett, here’s hoping that The Mandalorian can serve as an entertaining substitute.