Rumor: Is Simon Kinberg Producing A Boba Fett Spin-Off Movie?
Writer/producerSimon Kinbergis about to make his directorial debut withX-Men: Dark Phoenix, but he could be heading to a very different galaxy in the not-too-distant future. A new rumor reignites an old story: that Kinberg is on board to produce Lucasfilm’sBoba Fettmovie, aStar Warsspin-off film that’s been in development behind the scenes for years.
Though Lucasfilm has never officially announced that a Boba Fett movie was in the works, various reports have indicated that the project has been in multiple stages of development over the past five years. In 2013, Entertainment Weekly reported thatChronicledirectorJosh Trankhad been hired to direct a Boba Fett standalone movie which Kinberg was reportedly writing. Trank wasfired from that projectbefore it began filming, and the Han Solo standalone film ended up leapfrogging it and made its way into production first. But Kinberg wasstill attachedto write and produce, and in 2015, Lucasfilm presidentKathleen Kennedysaid this about the movie:
“It’s still one of the stories that we absolutely want to tell. There is a lot of innovative technology in and around what it is we’re doing with that story, so for a lot of reasons, we were comfortable postponing that. But we’re definitely still developing it.”
The new rumor comes fromOmegaUnderground, who have discovered that Kinberg is linked to an upcomingStar Warsproduction with the code nameTin Can. The site says Kinberg andLawrence Kasdanare both attached as producers, and they speculate that the title is a reference to bounty hunter Boba Fett’s armor. Again, while this should be considered a rumor for now, it’s one that sounds fairly plausible. Kinberg’s history and involvement with Lucasfilm (he’s an executive producer onStar Wars Rebels) indicates that Kennedy wants to work with him, and it’s clear that a Boba Fett movie is still a priority for the studio.
Butshouldthey still be focusing on that character in the first place? With Rian Johnson’s new trilogy in the works that centers on brand new characters, part of me would be a little surprised if Lucasfilm gave the go-ahead to a Boba Fett movie at this stage because that new trilogy seems to signal a shift away from the familiar and a willingness to take risks on unproven characters and stories. But from a financial perspective, I can see Bob Iger and the Disney overlords wanting Lucasfilm to capitalize on those familiar characters to attract a larger audience (see also:Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,Solo: A Star Wars Story).
I’m guessing we’ll seeFett: A Star Wars Story(or whatever it’ll be called) sometime in the next few years. If Lucasfilm insists on revisiting these characters in new ways, the least we can hope is that they end up being adventurous with the casting and the people behind the camera telling those stories.Michael B. Jordan(Fantastic Four) was oncerumored to play the character, and Kennedyjust spoke highlyofThor: RagnarokdirectorTaika Waititi, so maybe all of those elements can come together for an interesting take on an otherwise overrated character.
For me, the best story they could tell would not be a Boba Fett prequel, but a sequel toReturn of the Jediin which he survives the Sarlacc pit and we see what that experience does to him. Kennedy haspreviously hintedthat Fett might have survived, and one of the Lucasfilm Story Group members said that Fett is “simultaneously alive and dead in the Sarlacc pit until a story pulls him out,” so it’s possible we could be getting a Boba Fett sequel when all is said and done.
