It looks like the Star Wars universe is plotting its next spinoff. James Mangold is writing and will direct a Star Wars standalone movie centered on Boba Fett, the feared bounty hunter and fan favorite character from the Star Wars franchise.
The reveal comes as Disney and Disney-owned Lucasfilm prepare the release of the latest Star Wars standalone movie, Solo: A Star Wars Story. Solo, which opens in previews tonight and wide tomorrow, is the second movie to be spun from the main Star Wars lore — Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was the first — but it is the first to focus on a particular character.
Lucasfilm is developing movies on a slew of characters including Obi-Wan Kenobi, which has Stephen Daldry in negotiations to direct although there are no writers working on a script at the moment.
Boba Fett was introduced in 1980’s Empire Strikes Back and then appeared in 1983’s Return of the Jedi as the silent but armor-clad mercenary who brings Han Solo to the slug-like crime lord Jabba the Hutt. Despite having a helmet over his face, no lines and a very limited screentime that ended in his death, the character grew to cult status.
The George Lucas prequels showed his origin as a subplot but more importantly, his escapades were featured in various books, comics, animated series, video games and merchandising. Jeremy Bulloch played the character in the initial movies.
James Mangold brought prestige to the superhero genre with Logan, which he co-wrote and directed; the movie was produced by Simon Kinberg, who was also once rumored to be working on a Boba Fett movie. The X-Men standalone featuring Wolverine earned him critical acclaim as well as an Oscar nomination for best-adapted screenplay. His other credits include Walk The Line, Knight & Day & 3:10 To Yuma.
