James Mangold To Write And Direct The Boba Fett Star Wars Spinoff
by Erik Amaya
The long rumored Star Wars spinoff featuring bounty hunter Boba Fett finally became a reality today.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, 3:10 to Yuma and Logan director James Mangold will write and direct the film for Disney and Lucasfilm. The project has been one expected to emerge from Lucasfilm for sometime. In fact, many believe it was the film Fantastic Four director Josh Trank was developing before being dismissed by the company after the disastrous opening of that superhero reboot and tales of his on-set antics came to light.
The popular Star Wars character first debuted in 1978’s The Star Wars Holiday Special and was featured as the toy line’s first mail-away action figure. Boba Fett finally made his live action debut in 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back, where the soft-spoken yet efficient bounty hunter made a lasting impression on a generation of fans. But as often happens with visually impressive Star Wars characters, Fett died an ignominious death in 1983’s Return of the Jedi, in which he ended up in the belly of the all-powerful Sarlaac where he would learn a new definition of pain and suffering as he was slowly digested over 1000 years.
Of course, subsequent comic books and novels saved him from that fate and launched him into a hallowed status among Star Wars fans in general and Mandalorian cosplayers in particular.
It is unclear when the Boba Fett will be set — though its easy to imagine it will occur before his meeting with the Sarlaac — or when it will be released, but considering the open slot for a Star Wars film in 2020, that year is a pretty good guess. It is also unclear if Mangold will use his own naming conventions and dub the project Fett or The Mandalorian.
The report also mentions Stephen Daldry in negotiations to direct a Star Wars film centered on Obi-Wan Kenobi, which will presumably follow Mangold’s Fett film in 2021 as the Saga films take a break after next year’s Episode IX.
