Boba Fett and the man who played him, Jeremy Bulloch
The biggest Disney movie news of the past week was so big it needed its own post: Disney has announced that they’re planning character-based “Star Wars” spin-offs. That means they’re looking to make movies that expand the stories of fan favorites like Yoda, Han Solo, and Boba Fett.
If you’re wondering about the sequel trilogy, know that it’s still on track. Episode 7 might not make it out in 2015 as planned, now that the ever-busy J.J. Abrams is helming, but these character pieces aren’t meant to replace Episodes 7-9. Instead, they’re to come out in between the sequels.
Disney’s handling its Lucasfilm movie schedule the way it is Marvel: we have The Avengers, with multiple movies featuring the full team due out. But in between, individual characters get their own movies. Unlike with Marvel features, where events/characters from individual films play into the Avengers movies, the Star Wars character pieces are going to take place on different timelines. But the general concept applies.
The character pieces would mostly take place in between Episodes 1-3 and 4-6. They’d follow a young Han Solo, perhaps making his Kessel run in under 12 parsecs, or Boba Fett first establishing himself as one of the premier disintegrators of scum in the galaxy. Who knows what a young Yoda would be up to (and that one might take place before Episode 1), but we’d see that as well.
That’s where I begin to get nervous. I’m not at all surprised Disney is making these films, but I’m disappointed. I don’t want to see a young Han Solo, because Harrison Ford is Han Solo. Maybe it kind of worked with Young Indiana Jones, but Harrison Ford has been the only Han Solo for decades. Part of what makes characters like Yoda and Boba Fett so cool is their mystery. Give them entire films exploring their back stories, and that mystery is gone.
Disney’s going to oversaturate the franchise, and I’m worried that will ruin it. Of course, the only people who will feel like it’s ruined are those who grew up with only Episodes 4-6. Entire generations of children won’t know any different, and they won’t mind. But there can be too much of a good thing, and I’m worried that’s where Disney is going.
I know I shouldn’t judge until there are casting announcements, or I see the movie, or really that it’s definite the movies are being made, but it’s hard for me not to feel apprehensive. I knew this was coming when Disney purchased Lucasfilm, but it’s hard to watch it happen, all the same.
How do you feel about more “Star Wars” spin-off movies? The more the merrier, or too much of a good thing?
*(The above image by Official Star Wars Blog is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.)