The Book Of Boba Fett Trailer Breakdown: Heavy Is The Head That Wears The Helmet

Today, Lucasfilm dropped the first trailer for the upcoming series "The Book of Boba Fett," a spin-off of the "Star Wars" series "The Mandalorian" that's coming to Disney+ just before the end of 2021. The series picks up where Boba Fett's return in the second season of "The Mandalorian" left off, with the bounty hunter taking control of the criminal empire that was previously run by Jabba the Hutt (and his right-hand crony Bib Fortuna). However, it looks like Boba Fett may have his hands full as he tries to convince other sects of the criminal underworld to join forces in order for them all to make more money.

A Familiar Spider Droid

The trailer begins with a shot of the desert landscape on Tatooine before we see a metal spider with a glass container walking across the ground. That spider should look familiar, because we saw one briefly when C-3PO and R2-D2 arrived at Jabba the Hutt's palace in "Return of the Jedi." However, this is more than just some kind of droid spider. This is a B'omarr monk, a member of a mysterious religious order that, in seeking to cut themselves off from civilization, place their living, sentient brain inside of a nutrient-rich globe that is carried around by a spider droid body. These monks are responsible for building the monastery fortress that is Jabba the Hutt's palace.

'I Am Not A Bounty Hunter'

The trailer cuts to what appears to be a pit droid handing an unmasked Boba Fett his helmet. Intriguingly, we hear Temuera Morrison in voiceover saying, "I am not a bounty hunter." That would seem to indicate that Boba Fett is leaving the complicated profession of bounty hunting behind in favor of becoming a crime lord. But Boba Fett's reputation is clearly established as another unknown voiceover responds, "I've heard otherwise."

It's interesting to note that there appears to be some kind of rejuvenation chamber to the right of Boba Fett. It looks like a "Star Wars" version of a tanning bed, and I'm wondering if it's some kind of device that Boba Fett occasionally needs to use because of the injuries that he sustained while in the sarlacc. Maybe it's just a one-time thing, because if you look at Morrison's skin in this trailer, it's clearly been healed significantly since we saw him unmasked in "The Mandalorian." 

Lucasfilm Presents...

We can't help but point out the little makeover that the Lucasfilm Litd logo has been given in honor of "The Book of Boba Fett." The pale green and dark red is weathered somewhat with metal scratches and dents, just like Boba Fett's armor. It's just a nice touch.

Rolling Into Town

Now that Boba Fett has taken his place at the head of Jabba the Hutt's criminal organization, it looks like he's paying a visit to another nearby crime lord. This is one of those shots that feels like it's straight out of a Western, with Boba Fett and Fennec Shand strolling through town, and they clearly have some kind of agenda. Perhaps this is the first stop on their new path towards criminal underworld supremacy.

'I Know That You Sit On The Throne Of Your Former Employer'

We're not sure who this character is, but he's an Ithorian, also known as a hammerhead, just like Dok Ondar from "Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge," or Momaw Nadon from the Mos Eisely cantina in the original "Star Wars." This appears to be the source of the other voice from the opening of the trailer, because we hear the voice again, translating the Ithorian's language, "I know that you sit on the throne of your former employer." This Ithorian is clearly someone with great power of their own. The lair looks rather lavish, and they have a Twi'lek serving them. Perhaps this character won't be so keen to work with Boba Fett, giving us our first adversary of the series.

A New Spaceport?

This looks far too big to be Mos Eisley spaceport, unless there have been some significant developments in the years since we've been here. More than likely this is another spaceport somewhere on Tatooine, at least based on the environment. Is it possible that this is Mos Espa from "The Phantom Menace," where the film's famous podrace took place?

Boba Fett's Throne

Here's that throne that we saw Boba Fett sitting on in such a kingly manner in the credits scene tease from the end of the second season of "The Mandalorian." It's the throne that Bib Fortuna put himself in after the death of Jabba the Hutt. It was probably necessary considering how gluttonous and huge Bib Fortuna had gotten, following in the footsteps of his late boss. But now it's a roomy throne for Boba Fett that Fennac Shand can cooly lean on beside him.

A Little Stand-Off

It looks like Boba Fett's meeting with the unknown Ithorian ends up in a tense stand-off, as these meetings often tend to have until cooler heads have prevailed. Boba Fett wastes no time raising his blaster, not unlike his quick draw when Princess Leia (in bounty hunter disguise) raised a thermal detonator in his presence in Jabba's palace in "Return of the Jedi."

Fennec Shand is with Boba Fett every step of the way, and she's wasted no time drawing her large rifle. I'm not sure that long range rifle will be super useful in this situation, but she's surely skilled enough with it that it can do some damage.

'I Intend To Rule With Respect'

In voiceover, Boba Fett makes it clear how his rule over Jabba the Hutt's criminal empire will be different. While the late gangster ruled with fear, Boba Fett promises that he will rule with respect. Of course, that likely demands respect in return, and if respect isn't paid, I'm sure Boba Fett has no problem laying down the law. So there might still be a little bit of fear in the way Boba Fett oversees his new empire.

Another change is just how often we'll see Boba Fett without his helmet. Initially, I was not very pleased with Boba Fett showing his face so freely. But there's a moment towards the end of this trailer where I had my mind completely changed.

A Proposition

All the best crime movies involve intriguing propositions that will make some people rich while pissing off everyone else. There are certainly vibes of many mafia movies coursing through this trailer, and in this scene, Boba Fett is trying to unite various criminal empires into joining forces and becoming one giant lucrative organization. This includes giving those gathered much better treatment than Jabba the Hutt did. 

More Of Jabba's Palace

Since Jabba's palace is now Boba Fett's operation, we're bound to see even more of the lair than we've seen before. That includes this balcony, where Boba Fett and Fennec Shand look out over the dark desert. Is there any romance between these two, or is it purely professional? It could go either way. But if that's Boba Fett's bedroom on top of the palace, then they're clearly very comfortable with each other either way.

A Twi'lek Informant?

Boba Fett and Fennec Shand roll into a cantina of some kind, not unlike the many mob movies or film noirs from over the years. A Twi'lek waitress watches as the two enter the cantina, and if that's Jennifer Beals playing that role, then this is likely a key character who will have a pivotal role in the series, or at least a single episode. This clearly echoes all those classic movies where a young waitress has some key information about a criminal because of everything she witnesses in these seedy spots. Then again, maybe this is the proprietor of the bar, and Boba Fett has some business with the woman. 

A Boba Fett Bank

Lucasfilm has made a killing selling Boba Fett merchandise, including piggy banks of the bounty hunter's helmet. Now the helmet has been turned into a piggy bank on-screen with this pile of coins sitting inside of it. The New Republic logo (which also represented the Rebel Alliance) can be seen on the coins, as well as the symbol for Republic credits. But why are these coins in Boba Fett's helmet. Is it a fee of some kind? 

Ambushed

Whatever those Republic credits are for, they get tossed by the wayside when Boba Fett and Fennec Shand find themselves facing off with some henchman carrying holographic-looking shields and what appear to be sharp vibroblades, or at least an electrified weapon of some kind. Boba Fett looks shocked by this ambush, so he clearly wasn't expecting to be betrayed by someone, perhaps the Ithorian giving him a raw deal.

Wild Eyed

Look at those wild eyes! Any concern I had about Boba Fett not wearing his helmet immediately went away when I saw the pure rage in Temuera Morrison's eyes. Clearly you don't want to cross Boba Fett. I wouldn't be surprised if he's become a little more unhinged after his brush with death. Normally the helmet gives him such a calm demeanor without any emotion flashing in his face, but here, we get to see all that anger unleashed. It makes you wonder how often Boba Fett's face was contorted in such a way in "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi." You can just imagine what his face looked like when he got blasted into the sarlacc.

Speak Freely

Boba Fett may intend to rule with respect, but there's still a certain level of intimidation that comes from his rule. As Fennec Shand tells the rest of the alien criminals who question why they should consider working with Boba Fett instead of killing them, "If you had spoken such insolence to Jabba, you he'd have fed you to his menagerie." What sounds like reassurance also doubles as a threat. Because even though Boba Fett seems like he's being perfectly reasonable, I'm sure that there's a line that shouldn't be crossed with him, no matter how respectful his rule might be.

We certainly can't wait to see what unfolds in "The Book of Boba Fett" when the series arrives on Disney+ starting on December 29, 2021.

Read this next: The 12 Best Boba Fett Moments In Star Wars Shows And Movies

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