Warning: This post contains slight spoilers for The Book of Boba Fett episode 6.
Star Wars fans might've been excited to see Cobb Vanth return in this week's episode of The Book of Boba Fett, but the character's creator is taking issue with his lack of credit. For six weeks now, Star Wars fans have been tuning into Disney+ to watch The Book of Boba Fett, the latest live-action series from Lucasfilm. A spin-off of The Mandalorian, the show follows fan favorite bounty hunter Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) and his loyal right hand Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen) as they establish and fight for their claim to Tatooine's criminal underworld. At the same time, The Book of Boba Fett has revealed how Fett recovered from the Sarlacc pit after Return of the Jedi.
Despite being touted as a Boba Fett show, this week's installment featured more Mandalorian characters than scenes with the man himself. The Book of Boba Fett episode 6 prominently featured those like Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), Grogu, and Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson). It also saw the return of Tatooine sheriff Cobb Vanth (Timothy Olyphant) for the first time since The Mandalorian season 2 premiere. Fans had been clamoring to see him return ever since that 2020 episode, though it remains to be seen if he'll be back following his encounter with Cad Bane.
Before Vanth joined the live-action Star Wars universe, he was created for the Aftermath book trilogy by author Chuck Wendig. Seeing as Wendig helped bring Cobb Vanth to life, one might've expected him to get a shoutout in the credits for The Book of Boba Fett. Unfortunately, he did not, and he took to social media to express his frustration over it. Without mentioning the show by name, he wrote:
"I always dig it when big media properties have a special thanks for the writers and creators who contributed to their worlds and stories, and it’s a bummer when they don’t do that, and I bring this up for absolutely no reason at all and I will almost certainly delete this tweet."
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The topic of creatives being credited for their works that are translated into a live-action medium is one that has only grown in recent years, particularly surrounding the Star Wars and Marvel universes. Because both properties draw from things like books and comics, they are frequently boosting characters that were created by authors and artists with a smaller profile. And yet, despite profiting off said characters, those properties do little to honor the creators. This is an issue that has been raised many times with the MCU; just last summer, Howard the Duck artist Joe Quinones referenced the fact that he didn't get a credits shoutout when What If...? used a similar style as his for the character.
That Wendig, who is the whole reason Cobb Vanth exists, couldn't get even a small thanks in the Book of Boba Fett credits is immensely disappointing. Lucasfilm needs to honor the creators who have helped shape the Star Wars universe. If the studio is willing to use Cobb Vanth for shows like The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, it is clearly a fan of Wendig's work. He should be celebrated for that work just as much as fans are celebrating Vanth's onscreen return. Here's hoping Lucasfilm starts doing better in the future.
The Book of Boba Fett releases new episodes Wednesdays on Disney+.
Source: Chuck Wendig/Twitter