The Book of Boba Fett premiere, “Stranger in a Strange Land,” was put in an unenviable position. The premiere had to set the table for the new Star Wars series while also answering a question that’s been nagging fans since the character reappeared in season two of The Mandalorian: how did Boba Fett survive the Sarlac pit?
It’s unfortunate because the world-building of the Tatooine underworld and Fett’s rule over it is sacrificed to begin what seems like a season-long explanation of how he came back from the dead.
This episode would have worked much better as an episode zero or a mini-movie, where we see Boba’s (Temuera Morrison, Aquaman) journey from the literal belly of the beast to his imprisonment and eventual alliance with The Sand People, to him saving Fennec Shand (Ming Na-Wen, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) after the events The Mandalorian season one.
Director Robert Rodriguez and writer/producer Jon Favreau seem to be way more interested in this story than that of Fett’s ascension in the crime world. This is quite surprising given both men’s involvement crime stories throughout their careers (Favreau having acted in The Sopranos and Made, Rodriguez writing directing the Sin City and Mariachi films). Maybe this was done in order to get the big question out of the way right out the gates, and, in the long run, the series will benefit from this. However, this backstory being a part of Fett’s “dreams” does imply that we’ll be running this story for a number of episodes going forward.
This description so far might make you believe that this storyline is poorly executed, and that is the furthest thing from the truth. It’s executed flawlessly. The claustrophobic, visceral atmosphere Rodriguez created inside the belly of the Sarlac is one of the most incredible set pieces in recent Star Wars memory. This scene of Fett struggling through the Sarlac, barely making it out alive is worth the price of admission alone for this episode.
The rest of the backstory of Fett’s transition from prisoner to ally of the Sand People is a classic tale we’ve seen a million times over, and frankly Rodriguez does a solid job of taking a tired story giving it his own vicious, yet humorous take.
However, for all the good of this backstory, the present day Fett and Fennec storyline is sacrificed to a disappointing degree. The trailer for the series paints this Sopranos meets Star Wars atmosphere that you want to dive headfirst into. It seems fascinating that we could dive into this world of crime and political corruption in the Star Wars universe. Yet, we’re only given small glimpses in the Book of Boba Fett premiere. While we will undoubtedly see more of it in greater detail going forward, for the first episode we needed more here.
Instead, outside of one big action piece and clever vocal cameo from What We Do in the Shadows’ Matt Berry, we’re given a lot of repetition. Boba and Fennec run into figures in the political and criminal underworld that they can’t trust. Fennec doubts all of Boba’s decisions. Boba is haunted by his dreams and very stuck in his ways. The episode needed to spend more time establishing the underworld in order to make the characters’ motivations feel earned. It feels like the audience is left to assume a lot about the present day, while the past is spelled out in great detail.
The Book of Boba Fett premiere is not the blow-away, jaw-dropping, defy-all-expectations premiere The Mandalorian had in 2019. Instead, it’s an episode that takes the time to answer a very vital question for Star Wars fans, as well as gives us a glimpse－a fleeting one at best－of what present-day world of crime and political intrigue aways Boba Fett and Fennec Shand. The potential for this series is there, we just have to hope they capitalize on it.
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