The most recent Mandalorian meme to come out features two young kids playing with their Star Wars action figures with reckless abandon and unadulterated fun. The meme states that it’s Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni writing new episodes.
And boy is that ever correct. Both Jon and Dave have stated that it’s like playing with their old action figures and fulfilling every Star Wars dreams they ever had as kids. Well, it’s a similar feeling to those watching these Mandalorian episodes. The first season had me thinking about an old remote control Jawa Sandcrawler my neighbor used to have or playing with an old AT-ST that turned yellow from age.
But let’s talk about Boba Fett. A few years ago, in the movie Fanboys, the character of Windows states: “You guys both got to stop perpetuating this myth that Boba Fett is some kind of bad-ass. All right? He has a jet pack. So did the Rocketeer. Really cool. When it comes time for battle, the man’s Michael Bay – all style, no substance.” Well, let’s face it, this was accurate then. Boba Fett was the coolest looking action figure in your collection. His rocket was glued in the back of his jet pack but he just looked so awesome. If you’re like me, you heard rumors that this mysterious “Clone Wars” Obi-Wan was talking about had cloned troopers that were all part of the same armored race as Boba Fett. Thousands of Fett action figures versus thousands of Obi-Wan action figures. Until this season of The Mandalorian, Favreau just painted his Boba Fett action figure silver and made him even cooler.
Then we saw Boba Fett. Yes, there was the possibility of a Fett appearance in the first season after hearing his Lucas-approved-spur-clinking-sound. Then you had a quick shot of an un-helmeted Fett on Tatooine, looking all Sarlacc-scarred at the end of the first episode. An episode that showed the Fett armor being used by a modern Tatooine gunslinger/Marshall named Cobb Vanth. Just a taste. You knew it was him when you saw Slave One touchdown on that Jedi Temple planet. THEN HE APPEARED IN ALL HIS GLORY.
Temuera Morrison swinging a Tusken Raider Gafferdi stick like a Maori war club and just destroying Stormtroopers. He was the absolute bad-ass that we all imagined him to be while playing with the Fett action figure. He had a jet pack with a firing rocket, something that Cobb first used a few episodes earlier. And you knew that Hasbro had an original Fett figure with a firing rocket but that was ruined by some choking aspirations (sorry, Rogue One reference). He had the flamethrower, the guns, even the flippin’ knee rockets! It was so cool, just something that Favreau had in his back pocket as a kid and wanted to put on film!
Then came the coup-de-grace for my 8-year-old self in the final episode of the season. The Mandalorian, Grogu and his all-female fire team have just taken the bridge of the Imperial cruiser but are surrounded by Dark Troopers (for me, they’re from one of the first Star Wars video games I ever owned on my laptop, Dark Forces, so more nostalgia). Our heroes saw a single X-Wing and didn’t think much of it. The fans, however, are going crazy. It’s Luke Skywalker! It’s gotta be! He’s the Jedi that Grogu called! Then we see the hooded figure in black with a green lightsaber! He’s going through droids like his father went through Rebels! Then we see the computer-generated face and yes, it’s LUKE SKYWALKER!! Looking exactly the same as he did in ROTJ! More importantly, exactly as he looked on his action figure! It was a great ending to a great season and Favreau does it again!
You didn’t think I’d forget about Boba Fett in that final episode did you? No, Boba and Fennec went right into Jabba’s Palace on Tatooine, the same way you saw it in Return of the Jedi in 1983 (and hey, I was 8 at the time, so…). The first thing I saw was the throne, in the same place that Jabba’s dais was in the movie, but with Rancor-inspired decorations. And Bib Fortuna himself, one of the weirdest looking action figures in your collection. My mom refused to buy me Jabba’s Throne Room for Christmas that year because she thought Jabba was gross. And yeah, she was right. Anyway, Bib Fortuna apparently took over Jabba’s operations, indulging in food, wine, and Twi’lek slave girls (a lot). He even had that cool staff thing his action figure had. For me, just seeing Bib Fortuna back to me to being 8 years old again. Even seeing the title card The Book of Boba Fett brought it all back again. Thanks, Jon Favreau…
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story: Black Series Archive Action Figure: Shoretrooper @ ForbiddenPlanet.com
