The Book of Boba Fett stars Temuera Morrison and Ming-Na Wen respond to episode 3 controversies. Fans were certainly delighted when Boba Fett, back in the Star Wars universe after The Mandalorian, earned his own spotlight show on Disney+. But despite this excitement, reaction to the former bounty hunter's long-awaited new adventures has not been entirely positive.
Indeed the latest Book of Boba Fett episode proved again that Star Wars continues to be one of the most controversy-ridden of all major franchises. The first backlash-worthy development of episode 3 "The Streets of Mos Espa" came when Boba Fett returned to see the group of Tusken Raiders he befriended in post-sarlacc flashbacks throughout episodes 1 and 2 only to find them all dead, leaving him to unceremoniously burn their bodies in the desert. Critics immediately complained that this seemed an abrupt and unfair fate for the Tuskens after the show went to such lengths to establish them as characters. But even more backlash awaited the episode thanks to the introduction of the Mos Espa biker gang, a group of cyborg youngsters on hover-bikes whose decidedly non-Star Wars look and behavior was compared to Power Rangers and the juvenile heroes of the movie Spy Kids.
Thanks to THR both Morrison and Wen have already had a chance to respond to the two biggest controversies touched off by The Book of Boba Fett episode 3. Morrison for his part addressed criticisms of the show’s handling of the Tusken Raiders, saying “[Their portrayal] was better than it was [in the films].” Wen also added her own two cents, responding:
“We knew so little about the Tuskens and [the show] really gave them an incredible backstory … I thought all those elements really enrich who the Tuskens are … and [setting the bodies on fire] was part of Star Wars, with A New Hope, whether it’s the Jawas, when they were attacked, there is this ceremonious desire on Tatooine to burn the bodies as opposed to letting them lie out in the open in the desert.”
Of course critics didn’t object so much to the burning of the Tuskens’ bodies as they did to the very fact of their early departure from the show. The thought was that the characters would ultimately become Boba’s allies in whatever battles he must eventually fight, but instead of going this seemingly logical way, the show killed off Boba’s friends and instead introduced the biker gang to be his new allies.
As for those bikers, who definitely struck a strange note for a Star Wars show, Morrison had this to say in defense of their inclusion:
“Some of these things are out of our control. We can’t say as performers, ‘We don’t want to work with these people, that’s not good enough’ … They brought a lot of color to it, I thought … they were great, were working hard.”
Wen also defended the show’s biker kids, saying “This is a real homage to the things [creator] George Lucas always loved – whether it was the Mods in the ’60s, or [Lucas’ hot rod film] American Graffiti.” She added, “At the same time, it lends itself to learning more about Tatooine.”
The inclusion of that divisive cyborg biker gang, whose creation can seemingly be credited directly to episode director Robert Rodriguez (hence those Spy Kids comparisons), once again opens up a conversation about what is and isn’t right for Star Wars. Some will argue that the Star Wars universe has a certain long-established tone that shouldn’t be violated. Others will say that new creative voices coming to the universe should be afforded the freedom to add original things to the mix even if these clash with more familiar Star Wars elements. The Book of Boba Fett definitely has added some new things that arguably don’t fit well with what some might call “real Star Wars.” But certainly being slavishly devoted to one vision of Star Wars would only lead to creative stagnation. As Yoda might say, it’s all about bringing balance.
Source: THR