While STAR WARS' most notorious and mysterious bounty hunter plays a supporting role in the saga, Boba Fett has gripped fans' imaginations for decades and now his history gains further intrigue in a three-episode story arc for the Season Two finale of STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS this April. The crossovers from the feature films to animated series continue as Daniel Logan reprises his role as young Boba from ATTACK OF THE CLONES, illustrating how Fett has grown more mature and dangerous since his film debut in 2002.
As seen in the hi-res still above courtesy of Lucasfilm, Boba is now a young teenager in THE CLONE WARS and appears to have formed some strong friendships with other notorious characters including the Trandoshan bounty hunter Bossk (far left) and failed Jedi padawan Aurra Sing (far right). Logan continues his connection to the STAR WARS universe and expresses great enthusiasm for extending his character's legacy in the animated series:
“I’m so thrilled to be part of the series,” he says. “The stories and the animation are just amazing, and I love what they’re doing with the character of Boba. He’s always been so mysterious, and we’re giving fans just enough to keep them hungry and wanting more. This arc is so cool, and I hope the fans will love the episodes as much as I loved working on them.”
Lucasfilm promises that Boba Fett's dangerous first steps on his journey from innocent to icon will for the first time be revealed in the thrilling, three-part season finale of THE CLONE WARS.
Fans attending the Wondercon event in San Francisco next week will get a sneak preview of this explosive second season finale during Lucasfilm's Inside Star Wars: The Clone Wars panel on April 3rd from 4:30–5:30pm in Ballroom 103. The series' Supervising Director Dave Filoni, Daniel Logan (voice of Boba Fett) and Jaime King (voice of Aurra Sing) will be speaking at the panel to entice fans with more inside secrets, so don't miss it! Regrettably FILMEDGE cannot attend Wondercon this year but we'll do our best to update fans with news straight from the convention, and perhaps our Bothan spies will send us a few new tidbits to report as the event progresses. UPDATE: watch the new Season Two finale trailer just received from our Bothan spies at Lucasfilm.
Meanwhile, I'll take this opportunity to add some thoughts about Boba's appearance in THE CLONE WARS series and what these continuing adventures mean to the big picture of the STAR WARS saga:
SPECULATION ON BOBA FETT'S DEBUT IN THE CLONE WARS AND WHERE THE SERIES CAN GO FROM HERE
 As a first-generation STAR WARS fan on-board since 1977, I'm intrigued by Boba Fett's appearance in the series since, frankly, I found his backstory in ATTACK OF THE CLONES unsatisfying in its prominent yet undeveloped state. While Fett was definitely a mysterious character when revealed in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK back in 1980, not to mention a formidable foe to Han Solo, Leia and Chewbacca, his legend largely grew outside of the Original Trilogy and strictly within the Expanded Universe of STAR WARS novels and comics. By the middle of RETURN OF THE JEDI, Boba Fett meets a rather silly, ignominious demise falling into the Sarlacc — after developing his on-screen mystique and an eager fan following, his ultimate failure as a bounty hunter and apparent death ends up a cosmic punchline in the Original Trilogy. For all the menace John Williams composed into his EMPIRE musical motif, Boba Fett's fate in JEDI might as well have been cued by a comically deflating WAH-waahhh trumpet. Bounty hunter today, burp tomorrow.
When George Lucas explored Boba Fett's origin story in Episode II, the boy ended up as a sidebar to the importance of his father Jango Fett in the creation of the Republic's Clone Army. Even with this new knowledge, Boba himself still had no real connection to major events in the fall of the Republic nor the rise of the Galactic Empire, save for the death of Jango in battle against Jedi Mace Windu. Unable to avenge his father's death — reportedly Lucas considered involving Boba in Windu's murder in REVENGE OF THE SITH, but even he realized Fett was superfluous to Anakin's fall from grace — Boba Fett drifts out of the Prequel Trilogy only to return to the saga three episodes later for one good cameo before his accidental death in JEDI. Lucas had to shoehorn Boba into the Episode IV Special Edition just to give the popular character a few more seconds of screen time and please the bounty hunter's devotees. But even so, Fett's character gained no more relevance, no more importance to events in the Rebellion against the Empire. Boba Fett remained nothing more than the cool-looking bounty hunter who captured Han Solo and returned him to Tattooine, a sidebar character in Han Solo's cinematic subplot.
 In short, Boba Fett still had little to do with the larger story of STAR WARS as we know it. That's not to imply he's meaningless, of course, but when Lucas told Boba's backstory in the prequels, it added little to his actual historic importance in the ensuing four episodes. Boba Fett's origin tale in Episode II enhanced a character who had no personal effect on the destruction of the Jedi Order, the rise of Emperor Palpatine or even the triumph of Luke Skywalker and the Rebellion. So why does Boba Fett have so much staying power in the STAR WARS saga? There's got to be more to Boba Fett than some cool armor, an iconic helmet and a jet pack.
Perhaps now George Lucas, supervising director Dave Filoni and the series' creative team can devise a more satisfying role for Boba Fett to play in THE CLONE WARS which not only deepens his character for fans but adds relevance to his place in the larger STAR WARS storyline. Like the Prequel Trilogy, this animated series offers Lucas a rare and wonderful opportunity not to rewrite history but to expand upon the history he's implied and hinted at in his six films. I say this with all due respect as a nearly lifelong fan of STAR WARS: I don't think the Prequels fully lived up to that potential, if for no other reason than compressing all that pre-history and character backstory into three two-hour films was an impossible task for any storyteller.
 Now George Lucas no longer has that limitation of time and scope. THE CLONE WARS series not only extends the STAR WARS saga for fans old and new, but it provides the invaluable opportunity to enhance the stories Lucas has already told us, to deepen their meaning, to more fully realize these characters many of us have known for over thirty years now. Boba Fett can, and I hope will be, a prime example of how both storyteller and fan may explore that which we already know to discover that which we don't yet know and may never have suspected. Perhaps his animated series makes it a bit easier for Lucas to seize this potential opportunity since he now has both beginning and end points for Boba Fett's character — lateral storytelling offers a delightful challenge to write oneself into extreme circumstances because the way out is already mapped.
In a larger scale, the same opportunity applies to the long-rumored STAR WARS live-action television series which reportedly may air sometime in 2011: whether it takes place in the Clone Wars era or in the gap between Episodes III and IV, expanding the saga in a weekly format allows Lucas to deepen the meaning and legacy of his saga in relatively slow-motion storytelling. No longer constrained by two-hour windows opening every three years, Lucas can finally take the time to get into the details of character arcs and story development to explain the larger, almost philosophical questions looming large across the saga: why did the Jedi Order fail and how did Palpatine set these events in motion to embed the seeds of the Empire in the Old Republic? Even if this new live-action series doesn't focus on the main characters from the feature films, it offers a galaxy of room to explore such questions which can greatly enhance the STAR WARS we know today, and what STAR WARS will become in the future. Yes, fans, there is a future to STAR WARS and its beginnings are being created now. Where does it go from here? Well, that's where the fun begins!
THE CLONE WARS series is George Lucas' current, self-afforded opportunity to add to STAR WARS' legacy today and perhaps this season's finale involving Boba Fett is a step toward that enhanced expansion tomorrow. I think the series, largely aimed at younger, newer STAR WARS fans, should and will mature slowly with its audience, even though there are moments of foreshadowing in THE CLONE WARS which would fly over the heads of young children watching — it's not "just a kid's show" as some disgruntled fans complain. Yet to be fair, the series could be told with a bit more thematic depth to engage older fans while entertaining the young ones to broaden the show's appeal. Perhaps this is why Lucas may be exploring a live-action series, to tell new STAR WARS stories at both levels of sophistication without compromising both in one homogenized series? Only time will tell.
FILMEDGE will watching with great interests as Boba Fett makes his debut in THE CLONE WARS season finale, beginning on April 23rd and concluding April 30th. Please return for our weekly previews of all-new episodes throughout the rest of Season Two, and be sure to follow our expanding STAR WARS coverage including celebration of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK's 30th Anniversary this May. Soon FILMEDGE will give away 10 rare EMPIRE STRIKES BACK 3D Trading Cards to lucky fans before you can buy them in stores! Watch for details on this promotional giveaway and more coming soon.
Preview the exciting CLONE WARS Season Two finale trailer direct from Wondercon
FILMEDGE's coverage of THE CLONE WARS continues in Season Two
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