One of the things that I don’t want to do is ruin a series that people are into. Back with The Mandalorian Season 2, I did an article all about CGI Luke Skywalker and Disney’s plan to go full force into deep fake and CGI makeup technology. That’s only accelerated, but at the time I chose not to explicitly say that Luke Skywalker was going to be making an appearance. People were ecstatic about The Mandalorian at the time… it was like somebody at Disney had finally figured out Star Wars.
We’re in a different situation now. The firing of Gina Carano has created a backlash that not even I would have predicted. I can’t tell you how many articles I’ve done where the comments are loaded with people declaring that they just don’t care anymore until Carano is rehired. For many viewers, the firing of Gina Carano over her conservative-ish positions felt like they were being fired. They took it personally. It was a message to them that their beliefs and their personalities weren’t welcome at Lucasfilm, at Disney, in Star Wars. At the time, Carano was posting and discussing societal issues about people being “othered”… that is, she was drawing a comparison with our modern time (pre-pandemic) and times in the past in which society has looked down on people groups. She was worried about what that would lead to. Had she selected the “correct” people groups, she’d still be in Star Wars. But because Lucasfilm was and is a hyper-partisan studio, and because Disney didn’t want anything that even barely came towards offending the government of China (that’s another story for another day), the Kathleen Kennedy Crew had Carano tossed out ceremoniously. It snuffed Star Wars and the IP’s chance to come back after the sequel trilogy.
If you believe that Gina Carano was fired for being “conservative“ then you are arguing that conservatism means being horrifically transphobic, denying the extent and seriousness of COVID, and engaging in antisemitism and oblique holocaust denial. https://t.co/Evp59pr2zD
— Mx. Amadi Lovelace Has Left This Place (@amaditalks) February 12, 2021
Note: Gina Carano was later hired by Orthodox Jew, Ben Shapiro, to write, direct, and star in a future film.
The Book of Boba Fett faces headwinds that are much more difficult to surpass than The Mandalorian had to deal with. Additionally, the new series is struggling from a number of narrative and design issues. At any point if the Vespa Rainbow Kids return, it’s going to be a bad day for Disney+. But there’s still hope. Some of the fans were drawn back in by Episode 4, and I’ve even reached out to one of our readers to ask for a guest article to explain what was mesmerizing about that episode to die hard Star Wars fans holding out. I hope that reader will take up the offer.
For Jon Favreau, who is showrunning The Book of Boba Fett, the series has more importance than you might imagine. As Overlord DVD has covered on his channel, Favreau may have a major opportunity to move up the ranks at The Walt Disney Company in a way that continues to offer him creative freedom. Think of it as the Lasseter position. Frankly, the company needs that. They’re sorely lacking in some of their studios because they’ve hired based on political affiliation and immutable attributes rather than merits of ability. That has watered down what some of their studios can do. As cute as Luca could be, go watch Wall-E and compare that to what Pixar does now. Whatever you might think of Wall-E as a brand, that movie is a highwater mark for animation — it’s basically a silent film for half the run-time, and it communicates universally. For Disney to continue growing, they have to get back to things that blow our minds… and Favreau may be able to help. We need more opening scenes of Up and less ending scenes of Onward.
Some people have been trying to defend Favreau and saying that The Book of Boba Fett doesn’t feel like his writing. I agree, but I must confess that I think every single word is his writing. I was talking to someone with major inside connections, and they were asking about how the series was constructed… who exactly was doing the writing and how much freedom did directors have. I explained that Favreau was often off-site, but that he did all the writing and not even an ad lib was accepted without his approval. Concept art, set design, and special effects were a different thing, but when it came to writing, he was on it. So I started looking around publicly to see if anything like this had been discussed, and I did find some proof to show readers that Favreau has been totally in charge:
This scene tomorrow, I’m talking too much. This bubba doesn’t talk this much! I’ve got all these paragraphs here! I think we should get rid of it! And Jon’s gone to Atlanta, so don’t tell him.’ Next morning on the set I get a call from Atlanta. ‘Uh, Jon wants you to say all that dialogue.’
— Temuera Morrison
Read More: Boba Fett Talks Too Much On His Show, Says Temuera Morrison |
I’ve said all of this to say that there’s a lot riding on The Book of Boba Fett succeeding in the final episodes, and I’m not of the same mindset to hide what’s going to happen as I was with The Mandalorian Season 2. So if you’re interested in spoilers, here you go:
For the final episodes of the series, I think you should expect many cameos and callbacks. Specifically, look for major references to The Clone Wars and Return of the Jedi. I think most of you probably know there have been rumors that Harrison Ford was brought in to film as Han Solo and the CGI team with Shamook is likely going to de-age the actor for The Book of Boba Fett. It’s also possible that filming was done for a future additional cameo in another series. I think it’s all but confirmed you’re going to see ewoks at some point towards the end. Basically, I think they’re throwing everything and the kitchen sink at the ending. Will it save the series? I don’t think it saves any of these early episodes. Other than Episode 2, I don’t see much reason to re-watch. But it might just save the impression that Favreau is the guy to help lead Disney creatively.
Who knows? Maybe I’m wrong and maybe these “spoilers” are totally incorrect. I can only go with what I’m being told; I’ve not been on the set and I haven’t seen leaked footage. But for Jon’s sake, I hope the series goes out with a bang, because we need someone like a Favreau to bring in a new creative vision at Disney.
Let me know what you think the comments below. I do read them. And, as always, keep checking out That Park Place for the latest new and rumors for all things that should be fun.