A look into what can come out of perhaps the most significant episode of Star Wars content.
This season of Book of Boba Fett has been off the rails. We've had the top blown off of this era of the Star Wars universe quite a bit. Luke is setting up his Jedi Academy. Ahsoka is hanging out with Luke and R2-D2. Din Djarin visited his favorite foundling only to be dissuaded from distracting Grogu from his Jedi studies. Grogu left us with a big cliffhanger as he seemingly is deciding his future by either picking Din's gift for him - a baby armor set made of Beskar - or picking Yoda's lightsaber and taking up the mantle of the Jedi life along with it.
We've seen more animated characters join the live-action scene. A fantastic cameo from Clone Wars alum Cad Bane injected some excitement and gave us a face to associate with the Pyke Syndicate (we've seen the grunts, of course, but nobody of any significance). The baby rancor that appeared in Bad Batch is all grown up and under the care of Boba Fett. Even the deadly wookie Black Krrsantan crossed over from the comics. This isn't a new trend, of course. One of the very first animated characters to make the jump to live action was Saw Gerrera, who first appeared in Clone Wars before appearing in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
Most of all, we finally got answers to some long-time lingering questions regarding Boba Fett himself, none more significant than how exactly he escaped the pits of the Sarlacc. For better or for worse, the Boba Fett character has been fleshed out, and we now have context to his state of mind at this point. Bane reminded the audience last week that Boba is known throughout the galaxy as a deadly killer. Now, though, Boba seems to be a man of reason, with a more civil temperament than what maybe long-time fans would've expected from the previously stoic, mostly quiet villain whose motivations were driven by personal gain with no remorse for whomever got in his way. I don't think it's a stretch to predict that we see the nasty side of Boba in the finale, hopefully with better choreography that doesn't make actor Temuera Morrison look so old. The action has been amazing at times (the train scene specifically) and horrendous at others (the speeder bike chase, the fight in the streets when Fennec had to save Boba).
What does the future hold for Star Wars shows on Disney+?
The penultimate episode of Book of Boba very much felt like the assembly of everything we've seen to this point in the live-action Star Wars Disney+ era to this point. With two seasons of Mandalorian and all but one episode of Book of Boba out in the wild, the future is bright for Star Wars shows. We already know we're getting the Obi-Wan Kenobi show in May, and we're getting the Andor show, likely late this summer. As for this era, Mandalorian Season 3 supposedly is still arriving at the end of 2022, and it seems like part of that show has been set up already (depending on how the finale of Book of Boba goes, of course). We already know the Ahsoka show is in the works, but that likely will involve Grand Admiral Thrawn and Ezra (Thrawn could end up being the big-picture bad guy of this entire era). If Luke gets his own series (rumors suggest this will happen), he'll likely be setting up his Jedi temple. But Din Djarin's path seems less clear, as does Boba Fett's path. All of a sudden, Din may need to visit a destroyed Mandalore in search of ways to redeem himself (by bathing in the special waters under the destroyed mines) within the Mandalorian culture because he has taken off his helmet. But if Grogu chooses the armor and decides to rejoin Din, maybe Grogu and Din will fly off to Mandalore or maybe just head off onto their own adventures. I personally don't want to see Din and Grogu together anymore, so I'm hoping that Din leaves for Mandalore on his own. Even if Grogu picks the armor, which would be a good excuse to bring Luke Skywalker into the finale, at most, I'm guessing Grogu sees Din one last time and brings some closure to their relationship before Grogu heads back to train with Luke.
Side note: In the sequel trilogy, Luke says that Ben Solo was his first student, but the story is hinting that Grogu might be the first. I'm curious to see if any retconning will occur, although I could see Ben Solo coming back into the picture (more on that later).
As for Boba Fett, he's finally going to show his might and prove he's still the awesome bounty hunter the galaxy thinks he is. He, Fennec, his street gang, and whoever Cobb Vanth wrangles together will put together a dramatic, awesome victory in Mos Espa, but it may end up alerting the rest of the Pykes and other crime syndicates that Boba is back, which could launch an entire war between all these gangs. That would be cool.
What other characters might appear in the finale? What crazy cool interactions could happen?
This is where the fun begins.
Star Wars very much has followed the MCU's trend-setting ways by dropping in significant characters for shocking cameos. Luke's appearance at the end of Mandalorian Season 2 is one of the greatest moments in Star Wars history. So who else could set the Internet ablaze with an awesome cameo?
Let's start with one of the most awesome characters in the history of Star Wars: Han Solo. They could so much with him. First of all, I saw that IMDB listed Harrison Ford in the credits of the finale. Now, anyone can write that, so there's no credibility to that whatsoever, but hey, I can dream, right? Secondly, Han and Leia could be pregnant with Ben at this point in the timeline (five years after Return of the Jedi), or heck, Ben could even be a baby at this point. Maybe Book of Boba isn't the place for Luke to take Ben to his Jedi temple (save that for Luke's actual show), but Han appearing and casually talking to Luke about his son would be insanely awesome! It would be the first seeds of the sequel trilogy and filling in what exactly happened to Luke's Jedi Academy. This also would follow suit with how Disney has announced new shows, which has been surprises in the finales. We saw Loki Season 2 announced in the Season 1 finale, and even Book of Boba was announced in the Mandalorian Season 2 finale.
One cool interaction with Han would involve Boba. After all, Han is the one who knocked Boba into the Sarlacc Pit. Would Boba have revenge on his mind if Han showed up? Or, should Han end up being on Boba's side, would they have a good laugh about it? I already can envision one of the funniest lines in Star Wars history when Boba tells Han he got a lucky shot.
I know this has no chance of happening, but what if both Han Solo and Qi'ra cross paths in the finale? It would be a bit of an awkward moment when Qi'ra, Han's first love, realizes Han is married to Leia and maybe has a baby on the way by this point. Here's a crazy theory: you remember in The Force Awakens when Han first sees Leia again? It seems like a lot of time has passed since they were last together. Maybe they had marriage troubles? What if Qi'ra played a part in rocking Han and Leia's relationship? Man, that would be so awesome. I know it won't happen in this finale, but maybe if Han does show up, and if we learn of a spiritual sequel to Solo: A Star Wars Story in the form of a show with Han, Qi'Ra, and maybe Leia, this dramatic storyline definitely could happen there.
Another character who could appear in the finale is, of course, Lando. He actually would make the most sense out of the Original Trilogy characters. We already know he comes back into the fold in Rise of Skywalker, so his involvement in "the cause" never truly wanes. Lando could be up to his own tricks at this point after earning some fame for his maneuvers during the attack on Death Star II and his leadership role in the Rebellion.
Could we see Force ghosts? How funny would it be to see Yoda react to Grogu's existence? If the story reveals that Yoda had something to do with Grogu's escape, he would have some explaining to do for sure since he was so certain there were no other Jedi around during the Original Trilogy.
A lot of people, myself included, really want to see Anakin's Force ghost appear to both Ahsoka and Luke at the same time. What a conversation that would be. Anakin, Ahsoka's master and Luke's father, would have quite a lot to say to both of them. Even if that doesn't happen, I really want to see more conversations between Ahsoka and Luke at some point in the future. They would have so much to discuss! Heck, Ahsoka may play a part in how Luke wants to train Jedi. Part of the whole struggle longtime Star Wars fans had with the sequel trilogy was the way Luke operated out of fear in The Last Jedi, especially with an apparent shift in his mindset from the Luke of the Original Trilogy. Maybe Ahsoka could play a part in that transformation. After all, she saw some of the ugly side of the Jedi Council when she was banned from the order during Clone Wars. Maybe she opens Luke's eyes a bit to a slightly different viewpoint. I've seen a lot of theories about Luke possibly going down a different path already anyway because of the choice he presented to Grogu at the end of the penultimate episode. It seems like he is dealing in absolutes, which is, of course, a Sith trait. The other possible outcome to Grogu's choice is that Luke allows him to have both, which would mean he'd allow a Jedi to keep an attachment for a loved one (Mando). Again, a lot of this wouldn't come up in the Book of Boba finale, but rather on his own show, but maybe the seeds get planted in the finale.
Getting back on topic, let's take a look at the other side of the coin. We saw one bounty hunter in Cad Bane make an appearance. Could other famous Star Wars bounty hunters be next? Maybe Dengar or Bossk show up in the finale! We've seen them at various points, including Empire Strikes Back. It could be fun adding more bounty hunters into the mix with Boba Fett and Cad Bane. Other bounty hunter appearances wouldn't be nearly as impactful, but that could be why one of them makes the most sense; you don't want to distract too much from the story at hand. Cad Bane is plenty good enough to be a rival for Boba in the future, which would make for a compelling story going forward, and bringing other bounty hunters into the mix could add fuel to that fire.
One other wild character who could show up is Lor San Tekka, the old priest-like man at the beginning of The Force Awakens. Tekka's name has appeared in the High Republic books; he has an ancestor who is a key figure, so it's clear Lucasfilm wants to keep that door open. More importantly, Tekka had a strong allegiance to Luke and Leia, so it's possible Tekka will appear on the planet where Luke is setting up his Jedi Academy. Like many other possible cameos, this probably won't happen in the Book of Boba finale, but it very well could happen during Luke's alleged show.
Will we find out who saved Grogu?
We saw a flashback scene via Grogu's recently unlocked memories (did Grogu repress his own memories? Did a Jedi do that? Or maybe even a Sith?) that showed Clone troopers turning on Jedi as the execution of Order 66 commences. Grogu is sitting at the edge of a bridge or docking bay or something, and he's feeling helpless. It's pretty clear that he doesn't have it in him to get to safety himself, so it's likely that someone grabs him and protects him.
So the question - the same question we asked when Ahsoka talked about Grogu in that Mandalorian episode" - is who was around at the time to save Grogu? Obviously at this time, many Jedi have been killed. The Jedi we know survive include Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda. Obi-Wan, of course, could've saved him, which could be addressed in the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi show. If there's going to be a post-credit scene or an actual trailer released for Obi-Wan Kenobi, there could be more connections made between the prequel era and the post-Episode VI era that these shows are in currently. The other obvious answer is Yoda, but I kind of hope neither Yoda nor Obi-Wan are the ones who save Grogu. Neither of them have any inkling that another Jedi is around during the Original Trilogy. That's one really frustrating aspect of Ahsoka showing up in this era, too. Why didn't anyone know about her existence? And if they bring in Cal Kestis, the Jedi you play as in the Jedi: Fallen Order video game, why wouldn't anyone have known about him? What's interesting about Cal is he crosses paths with Darth Vader in the video game, so why wouldn't Vader have tried to track down Cal knowing he's still around (spoilers for the end of the video game: you beat Vader and escape an underwater facility to beat the game).
It seemed like Ahsoka was surprised to see Grogu in that episode of Mandalorian Season 2, so she likely isn't the one who saves him. So who did? A lot of Internet rumors suggest that Lucasfilm has considered bringing back Mace Windu. I love Mace, but I really don't see how that's possible considering the nature of his death after losing his fight with Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith. One of the craziest theories I've seen is that Jocasta Nu, the old woman who talks with Obi-Wan about the missing information on Kamino while researching archives in the Jedi Temple, is the one who saves Grogu. Jocasta went on to have huge storylines in the comics. She turned out to be force sensitive, and she even fights Darth Vader at one point! The key point in her story is that she was tasked with protecting a data chip that had a list of all the force-sensitive children. This could play into the Cal Kestis theory, as well. They both could come back into the fold as people who try to locate Jedi for Luke to train.
What does Boba's future hold?
Ironically, the least interesting prospect of the finale involves the title character. Boba needs to be awesome in this episode, no question about it, and I think it'll happen. I've mentioned it before, but I'm envisioning the final shot of the episode looking like a movie poster with Boba, Fennec, Cobb Vanth, the cyberpunk street gang, and maybe a surprise character all looking off into the distance, the twin suns of Tatooine casting their shadows on the ground. The craziest possibility for the finale is witnessing the death of Boba Fett. Again. It would be so silly for them to invest all this time and backstory to build up this character only for Lucasfilm to punk us and take him out in ridiculous fashion once again. That won't happen, but I'm curious if Boba will appear again. If the story blows the doors off the Pykes and reveals greater threats out there, I'd love to see Boba lead his crew against deadly factions in the outer rim territories. This would perserve the "old west" feel that Star Wars often times has.
I always believed the worst thing that could've happened to Star Wars was the moderate box office success of "Solo: A Star Wars Story." Back in 2017-18, Star Wars movies were releasing too often for many fans. While I understand that sentiment - a Star Wars movie should be a special occasion, not a cycle of phases like the MCU - the backlash that "Solo" received seemingly shut down many rumored Star Wars projects at the time. I still maintain that we were going to get Lando and Boba Fett movies, and we even could have seen a "team-up" movie with all of those characters going at it. That would've been awesome. I personally theorize that we are seeing the shell of that idea carry over to these Star Wars Disney+ shows, and I'm here for it!
Notes:
-A second season of Andor has been confirmed before we've seen any official footage from Season 1. That's great. Hopefully Lucasfilm is that confident in the Andor show's quality that we will love it and clamor for more.
-I've seen rumors that Disney actually was so concerned with the reception to the early episodes of Book of Boba Fett that they decided to air already shot episodes of Mandalorian Season 3 and stick it in the middle of this show to boost ratings. This is such a ridiculous idea. There's no way that show is already finished with production and post-production, not even close.