Warning! Spoilers ahead for The Book of Boba Fett season 1.
Before The Book of Boba Fett wrapped up its first season, it finally explained why Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) is suddenly so lame now. When Lucasfilm finally confirmed long-standing rumors that the beloved Star Wars bounty hunter survived his fall in the Sarlacc pit via The Mandalorian, fans were excited. From there, The Book of Boba Fett was greenlit, but unfortunately, it wasn't as well-received as its parent series. Aside from issues with the show's storytelling, both fans and critics also had issues with a seemingly weaker and uncool Boba Fett.
Very little was known about the character before The Book of Boba Fett. He had minimal involvement in the original Star Wars trilogy, but he still made a great impression. So much so that fans continued to clamor for more stories about him decades after Boba Fett’s supposed death in Return of the Jedi. Lucasfilm was actually planning on making a film about the character; Simon Kinberg was supposedly co-writing its script, while Josh Trank was hired to direct it. Nothing came out of that, resulting in the project being alternatively reworked to be a small screen endeavor.
Considering how cool he was in the limited screen time he got in previous Star Wars films, there was an expectation that Lucasfilm will simply bring that version of the character back and put the focus on him. But that wasn't the case; instead, The Book of Boba Fett featured a less ruthless, almost weaker version of the former bounty hunter. The decision was divisive. While some understood that it was all part of humanizing him, others didn't like that it essentially stripped him of everything that made him cool. Amidst the varying reactions to this, Lucasfilm finally explained what motivated the change in Boba Fett on The Book of Boba Fett finale. During his initial duel with Cad Bane, the Duros mercenary accused him of being soft. Boba Fett didn't deny it; he admitted to it and simply chalked it to getting old. He sounded so at peace with this. It was supposed to be an insult, but it's as if it's a personal choice for him to be less cruel.
In hindsight, it does make sense that Boba Fett has started to mellow down. After everything he's been through, the internal change in him was inevitable, especially since he isn't as physically capable anymore. Instead of going around, picking fights, he needs to be more intelligent with his choices. Unfortunately, the execution just didn't quite work on The Book of Boba Fett. Instead of being the cerebral character that Lucasfilm wanted him to be, he looked more like a lame hero. It didn't help that he also didn't exhibit great leadership skills as most of his actions were suggested by his allies, primarily Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen). Things got worse when Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) from The Mandalorian came in because the comparisons between them were unavoidable.
Given how The Book of Boba Fett season 1 ended, it's safe to say that a second season will happen. Hopefully, Lucasfilm finds a way to resolve the issues that both fans and critics had with the series. They need to address the criticisms on their depiction of Boba Fett, in particular, considering that he is and should be the core character of the show.
The Book of Boba Fett season 1 now streams on Disney+.
