‘Star Wars’ Boba Fett Movie Gets Green Light, Taps ‘Logan’ Director James Mangold To Helm
Boba Fett is the next Star Wars character to get a spinoff movie. Lucasfilm is bringing the fan favorite's story to the big screen.
Stepping Into The Spotlight
The company is currently working on producing several movies within the expanded universe, including one focusing on Obi-Wan Kenobi. That film is rumored to be directed by Stephen Daldry, but no confirmation on same is forthcoming as of yet.
Bounty hunter Fett is the first in what's expected to be a whole slew of spinoff stories. Logan director James Mangold is on board to write and direct the standalone movie.
The announcement comes as Disney and the now-Disney-owned Lucasfilm prepare for the hugely-anticipated release of Solo: A Star Wars Story this weekend. The movie, directed by Ron Howard, focuses on another fan favorite character, Han Solo.
It's the second spin-off movie, following Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which focused on stealing the plans for the Death Star, but the first to center on a particular character.
Assembling The Right Team
Previously, there were rumors that X-Men and The Martian writer-producer Simon Kinberg was working on a Boba Fett movie.
It now seems as though he and Mangold will be co-writing the script together, with Kinberg also producing.
The two are close, having worked on Logan together, itself an X-Men spinoff that was hugely popular upon its release last year. It even earned Mangold an Oscar nod for his screenplay.
An Esteemed Legacy
Fan favorite Boba Fett first appeared in 1980's The Empire Strikes Back, which fans consider as one of the best Star Wars movies. Jeremy Bulloch originally portrayed the character.
He also appeared in hit sequel Return of the Jedi, as the mercenary who brings Solo to Jabba the Hutt. Although a helmet covers his face and he spends very little time onscreen, as well as dying pretty quickly, Fett soon gained cult status with fans.
George Lucas's much-maligned prequels showcased Fett's origin story as a subplot of sorts, but his various escapades throughout the galaxy have featured heavily in comics, animated series, and video-games over the years.
The premise for the upcoming spinoff film is being kept under wraps. It's unclear whether it will focuson Fett's life pre- or post-Sarlacc days, but it's widely hoped the movie will undo some of the bad work done by Lucas's prequels.
