Director: Robert Rodriguez

Writer: Jon Favreau 

Starring: Temuera Morrison, Ming-Na Wen

Rating: ★★★★

After being slyly announced at the end of the second season of The Mandalorian, Boba Fett’s solo show has started airing on Disney+. It feels like there’s barely been any promotion for The Book of Boba Fett, with the release feeling very under the radar compared to Hawkeye or Loki. Even The Bad Batch got bigger fanfare prior to release. Regardless, it’s here now and it’s a welcome addition to the Star Wars universe.

The first episode starts with an introduction of Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) with a shot of him as a child and then taking Jabba’s throne, which we saw at the end of The Mandalorian second season finale. The question of how he got out of the Sarlacc pit after Return of the Jedi has been answered in the most obvious way. The rest of the episode is then split between the present where Fett is taking control of Jabba’s empire and flashbacks to the aftermath of the Sarlacc pit. Whether you wanted the lead up to his appearance in The Mandalorian or the next chapter beyond that, The Book of Boba Fett has you covered.

Episode one is a great introduction to the series. If you’ve not seen The Mandalorian, then you can absolutely jump straight into this. It feels like it’s going to be completely self-contained. So far the set up is really well done and the rest of the series can’t come soon enough. To be wouldn’t expect anything less from Robert Rodriguez and Jon Favreau.

Both Temuera Morrison and Ming-Na Wen, who plays Fett’s assassin Fennec Shand, are great. They were both excellent in the episodes of The Mandalorian they were in and are just as great here. Morrison is the perfect Fett, and Wen is deadly as Shand. There’s also an appearance from Matt Berry, from House of Fools and What We Do in the Shadows, and if there’s anything this world needs it’s more Matt Berry.

Seeing the expanded world is always exciting, and this feels like we’re getting to see a completely new side to the Star Wars universe. The gangster empire that Jabba the Hut ran has been a mystery previously, but it feels more complete here. The story showing Fett’s escape from the pit, and subsequent capture by the Tusken Raiders is also gripping so far. It may change, but it does feel the rest of the series is going to be split between the two story lines with the present and flashbacks. The visuals also look great. There’s a rooftop chase on Tatooine that looks excellent and the creature designs are simply spot on.

It may be too early to tell just yet, but there are hints that Boba Fett has been softened up for this series. In the original films, he was a ruthless bounty hunter who had no problems turning in Han Solo for the money. He doesn’t really get that much screen time in Empire or Jedi, but he is without any doubt a villain. Here, as he was in The Mandalorian, Fett is presented as a morally ambiguous character, he’s someone who wants to rule with respect and not fear, he also offers to help another prisoner escape in the flashback. It seems a little out of character, compared to the quiet and pay-check driven bounty hunter from the films, but then again he isn’t exactly fleshed out in the films, so this is his real chance to shine.

Chapter One does a great job at setting up the new show, as well as filling in gaps from the Star Wars lore. It’s exciting to see what’s coming next.

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