The Book of Boba Fett Star Wars series on Disney+ has been something of a slow burn. In fact, some fans have been bored and underwhelmed. While some of the plot and story beats about the past of Boba Fett and his survival at the end of Return of the Jedi have been interesting, the rest of the show has not made a significant impact. The hype for it has even died down, being overshadowed by rival shows such as The Witcher Season 2 on Netflix and HBO Max’s Peacemaker. However, episodes 5 and 6 are gamechangers, thanks to the return of Din Djarin, Grogu, Luke Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, and Cad Bane. Star Wars fans couldn’t be happier, but these episodes also alter the prequel and sequel trilogies. Read on for more of the details and how they set the stage for the future of the sci-fi franchise.
Prequel revelations
The Book of Boba Fett episode 6 catches us up with Grogu and Jedi Grandmaster Luke Skywalker after the finale of The Mandalorian Season 2, a major revelation from The Book of Boba Fett comes in the form of Grogu’s memories of Order 66. During part of his training with Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Grogu recalls the night of the massacre in the great Jedi Temple on Coruscant. The younglings memories brings forth the events of his witnessing how the Jedi were cut down by the Clone Troopers. This establishes a long speculated past for Grogu. The child was a youngling Padawan who escaped being murdered by the corrupted Anakin Skywalker (who had become the Sith Lord, Darth Vader). This is a major change to the previous canon that none of the Jedi younglings in the Jedi Temple survived. While the complete circumstances of Grogu’s flight to survival have yet to be revealed, it is no longer true that all of the Jedi younglings were killed, which even Yoda and Obi-Wan stated in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. This also opens up the possibility that Grogu might not be the only Jedi youngling survivor, which can be explored in future Star Wars projects down the line. One other change from the sequels (and, in a way, the Original Trilogy) is the continued existence of Yoda’s shoto lightsaber. The diminutive Jedi Grandmaster and mentor to Luke’s Dagobah training had lost his green lightsaber during his climactic battle with Darth Sidious in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith at the halls of the Senate. But Luke reveals the shoto lightsaber was recovered and in Yoda’s possession, offering it to Grogu as the symbolic choice of furthering his Jedi training.
Sequel alterations
And then there are the events in The Book of Boba Fett that forever alters the sequel trilogy. For one, the sequel trilogy established Ben Solo as Jedi Grandmaster Luke Skywalker’s first student in both dialogue and flashbacks. However, that is no longer the case. As whether or not Grogu chooses not to continue his training, the little Jedi Padawan that escaped Order 66 is now the first being Luke has taught (or in Grogu’s case, re-taught) the ways of the Force. Moreover, Master Skywalker in episode 6 has shown far more maturity as a teacher than the version presented in The Last Jedi. Even considering the ramifications of Ben Solo’s descent into Kylo Ren, the inconsistencies between the “younger” Luke compared to the older one in the sequel trilogy are leagues apart. In a way, the altered characteristics between the two Lukes are similar to how the MCU handles having “variants” of the same character. This echoes the commentary of Mark Hamill. Back in 2017, the actor expressed how he disagreed with director Rian Johnson regarding the portrayal of Luke Skywalker in The Last Jedi, even mockingly referring to that version as “Jake Skywalker”: While fans of the sequel trilogy will no doubt put this off as merely a difference between the experiences of the younger and older Jedi Masters, fans who were disappointed with how Luke was handled in the sequel trilogy have been unanimous in their reaction to the current treatment. Said fans have taken to social media to express their approval and apparent course correction being made by the Disney+ Star Wars series.
— Chad Jensen (@ChadNJensen) February 4, 2022
— Zxpfer (@Halaste) February 2, 2022
— Kris (@5kl) February 3, 2022
— sean (@seanmcbay_) February 6, 2022 One other major addition that alters the sequel trilogy is the presence of Ahsoka Tano (portrayed by Rosario Dawson). While Ahsoka is technically an ex-Jedi, her being present during the time Master Skywalker is establishing a new Jedi Order is significant. The sequel trilogy gave the impression that Luke was bumbling around in rebuilding the Jedi Temple and teaching the Jedi during the New Republic era. With Ahsoka having more experience of actually being a Padawan and being under the tutelage under the old Jedi Order, it would be unlikely that she did not share her knowledge with the fledgling Jedi Grandmaster. Although Ahsoka will be busy in her own series, the implication of her giving Luke information on training Jedi and how to avoid the mistakes of her former mentor, Anakin, are significant in changing what the sequel trilogy previously depicted about the callous version of Luke that Rey Palpatine found on Ahch-To. With that said, Grogu being given the choice to either continue training with Luke or accepting the gift of a Beskar tunic from his adopted guardian Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) may likely be a foregone conclusion. After all, The Mandalorian Season 3 needs to happen and it needs to have Grogu involved in a major way.
And then there’s Cad Bane and the Mandalorians
One more element from the Clone Wars canon brought over into the live-action Star Wars through The Book of Boba Fett episode 6 is the menacing bounty hunter, Cad Bane. Although the blue-faced and red-eyed gunslinger had only a brief scene (while also bringing back another fan-favorite, Timothy Olyphant’s Marshal Cobb Vanth), it established his role as an enforcer for the Pyke Syndicate. Unless the Duros mercenary perishes sometime between The Book of Boba Fett and The Force Awakens, and given his now-legendary notoriety, his absence in the sequel era would be a disservice. On that note, now that Mandalorians are shaping up to be integral players in the future of the post-Original Star Wars trilogy, the absence of any Mandalorian influence in the sequel trilogy would now be a glaring omission. Din Djarin being in the possession of the Darksaber is also a point to consider. Even if the Darksaber would likely pass on to a new owner, either by choice or by force, such a powerful weapon (in both combat and in political influence) would have been impactful during the Resistance vs. First Order era. And whereas it was understandable that after the Purge the Mandalorians became more reclusive, the conflict between the First Order and the Resistance not having the now-familiar warrior caste in some shape or form would be inconsistent. But perhaps the resolution of The Mandalorian series will address that when the time comes. Regardless, Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni are clearly charting the future while making changes to the past of Star Wars. Ironically, however, the most well-received episodes of The Book of Boba Fett are the ones where Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) barely appears. Could the finale successfully reframe Boba Fett as the lead? What will the last episode of The Book of Boba Fett add to further alter the prequel and sequel trilogies? How would it lead to the next season of The Mandalorian and set up the Ahsoka solo series? Will the rumors of the arrival of Han Solo and Grand Admiral Thrawn be confirmed? Episode 7 of The Book of Boba Fett streams on Disney+ on Wednesday, February 9, 2022.
