There are things about which it is better not to have more information. In life, in friendship, in love and in art. Should we know what Heathcliff did when he disappeared in
Wuthering Heights
for several years and returned a potentate, or is it better to keep the mystery that Emily Brontë hid in her novel? An attempt was made to recount those years in a book-continuation and it was a failure. Something similar happens with the bounty hunter Boba Fett and the planet Tatooine in the new installment of the so-called "expanded universe of Star Wars" (in some cases, the expression "pull the gum" would be much more appropriate).
The Boba Fett book
(Disney +), the series of which three chapters have already been broadcast, reveals a mystery that was much better kept hidden.
Actually, it is not even a continuation of
the Star Wars saga
,
although its starting point is the fight to rescue Han Solo frozen in carbonite with which
Return of the Jedi begins
,
one of the most brilliant and funny from the original trilogy by George Lucas.
It's an attempt to build on the success of
The Mandalorian series
,
which many fans consider the best product to come out of the Star Wars factory, by the same creator, Jon Favreau.
More information
'Star Wars', the saga that changed the history of cinema
In both cases, the protagonist is a Mandalorian bounty hunter - one of the many tribes or races that inhabit the galaxy in the dark times of the war between the rebel alliance and the empire. The difference is that Pedro Pascal does not take off his helmet at all in
The Mandalorian
and manages to fill his character with a halo of mystery in which they cross the western —he is one of those reluctant heroes so typical of Western cinema that resists fulfilling a saving mission that destiny has entrusted to him—with Indiana Jones, because it is also a classic adventure film. In
Boba Fett
Temuera Morrison removes his helmet whenever he can, and with it, much of his character's charm as a sort of Samson given a military haircut disappears.
That there are no Baby Yoda-like creatures in the second series doesn't help much to get viewers hooked either.
Image from the first season of 'The Book of Boba Fett', with the fearsome bounty hunter as the protagonist.
Boba Fett is a very secondary character in the original trilogy, made up
of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back
—in which he appears for the first time—, and
Return of the Jedi,
where in theory he died devoured by a sand monster. with a thousand year digestion called Sarlacc. He's clearly part of the bad guys team: he's hired by Darth Vader to capture Han Solo, which he does because he's the best bounty hunter in the galaxy. He freezes it in carbonite and gives it to Jabba the Hutt, a slimy, wicked creature and galactic gangster of sorts who rules the underworld of the planet Tatooine. There we find it in
Return of the Jedi,
where Han Solo unwittingly sends him into the jaws of the monster.
The series in which he stars starts when he manages to kill the Sarlacc, thanks to his armor and his strength, and save himself.
a reasonable guy
In an article published this Christmas, Dave Itzkoff wondered in
The New York Times
how it was possible for a character as peripheral —although important in the plot— as Boba Fett to occupy such a wide space in the imagination of fans of the saga (and in your
merchandise).
"It's not so much about the things that Boba Fett does in the movies, but about the things that Boba Fett has done," said Charles Soule, the author of the current Star Wars comic series. “Everyone who comes across Boba Fett is either intimidated by him, interested in him, or wants to use him for the toughest jobs possible,” explained Soule. "He occupies this incredibly important place in the
Star Wars
galaxy
outside of his on-screen appearances."
Two creatures from Tatooine in an image from 'The Book of Boba Fett'.
However, the series does not enlarge this mystery, but rather dwarfs it because Fett behaves not as a ruthless bounty hunter capable of selling his family for loot, but as a fairly reasonable guy - although a bit
gangster,
everything has to be done.
say it-
Not only does she take off her helmet, but she walks away from any flirtation with the dark reverse to become a riddleless sphinx.
Something similar happens with the other protagonist of the series, the planet Tatooine, that immense desert world —inspired by the Sahara in southern Tunisia— where
Star Wars begins.
and in which Luke Skywalker discovers his destiny from the hand of Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Again, we didn't need as much information about the life and miracles of creatures as the Sand People.
Galactic mysteries are best left alone, unless it is to enlarge them.
You can follow EL PAÍS TELEVISIÓN on
or sign up here to receive
our weekly newsletter
.