It’s been a mixed few years for Star Wars fans. Shows like The Mandalorian have gone a good way to make up for some of the issues that viewers have with the newer movies, yet many problems and criticisms persist — most of which are actually quite reasonable, which is a surprise for a franchise with a committed (and occasionally rabid) fanbase like Star Wars. Even popular shows like the Disney Plus series have their detractors, especially when it comes to how franchise bosses are treating some of the fandom’s favorite characters and the actors who portray them. And, in the eyes of the internet, few Star Wars favorites have been treated as badly as the feared bounty hunter Boba Fett.
The recent explosion of support for the notorious clone has come alongside the news that the actor who played the role, Temuera Morrison, didn’t even receive a call about his character appearing in the latest season of The Mandalorian. Twitter especially is up in arms, with plenty of users on Elon Musk’s hell-site complaining about the lack of respect shown to Morrison. This is kind of strange given that his miniseries, The Book of Boba Fett, didn’t exactly get the best ratings or critical reviews at the time of its release.
Among some Star Wars lovers, The Book of Boba Fett was lambasted as being nothing more than an appendage to The Mandalorian, held together purely by Morrison’s acting performance. In fact, in response to this latest groundswell of support for the character, many fans are quite confused as to how he’s managed to become such a beloved figure considering the very valid criticisms of Fett that people were happy to throw about previously. The show itself was seen as messy and, to an extent, full of lazy writing, and it’s not hard to argue that as a fair assessment.
For now, the Boba Fett love does seem to mostly be stemming from an appreciation of Morrison who, despite his character’s uneven reputation, is a firm favorite of those who’ve been keeping up with the Star Wars universe. As Disney continues to squeeze every ounce of profitability out from the Star Wars IP, we’re sure to get plenty of similar situations, with powerhouse actors putting in great performances as beloved characters, only to be let down by shoddy writing, an overreliance on CGI, and generally poor world-building. Whether or not they all get cheerleaders like Morrison has yet to be seen.
