Star Wars’ New TV Show Revives Debates About the Saga’s Coolest Character Being “Ruined” After 41 Years

It’s no secret that Star Wars fans have never messed around when it comes to their favorite characters. And while it’s hotly debated who was the biggest badass in franchise history, one name always seems to come out on top, and for good reason: Boba Fett, the bounty hunter who always lurked in the shadows. He’s a rogue who goes his own way, has no issue with simply disintegrating people, and, while having suffered personal tragedy and the loss of his only family, seems more driven by his opportunistic nature than anything else. Boba Fett is your perfect morally gray character, and that’s why the direction that his story has been taken in recent years is so disappointing to fans.

The biggest source of this subset of the fandom’s disappointment? The Book of Boba Fett, the series that finally put the spotlight directly on the titular bounty hunter, but not in the way that anyone hoped for. And now that Maul – Shadow Lord has been released, fans are once again discussing the treatment that Boba Fett should have received—the one that Maul seems to be getting. “They should have just called Boba’s show Civil Servant Fett, would have been more accurate,” said one fan, who isn’t far off from what we got in The Book of Boba Fett.

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Fans are still heated about Fett’s treatment, and even Dave Filoni isn’t safe from getting dragged into the discourse, with one fan saying, “Dave Filoni is part of the problem. The live-action stuff he’s been involved in feels like a mad scramble to make his corner of the Wars into live-action Star Wars. I know there’s a whole generation who grew up on his flavor of Star Wars…but it’s all been so boring.” It doesn’t help that Filoni brought in Robert Rodriguez, the director of Spy Kids, to handle most of the episodes of The Book of Boba Fett—a choice which carried serious tonal consequences for the entire show and diminished the bounty hunter at every turn.

“He should have continued acting like a crime boss, not become a wannabe hero. That is not what Boba is. He is an opportunist. He isn’t cruel, but he also isn’t a hero. They should have made this Sopranos in space,” pointed out another fan. And the comparisons to what we’ve gotten in the first two episodes of Shadow Lord, with Maul having organized a dedicated and loyal crime syndicate and exacting his revenge on those who betrayed him, feel exactly like what The Book of Boba Fett could have been, especially with the talent of Temuera Morrison and Ming-Na Wen backing the series.

Despite the treatment Fett received, there is some lingering hope for a future series that could undo some of the damage. And at least Maul fans won’t have to suffer quite as badly as Fett fans did.

What are your thoughts on the comparisons between Maul — Shadow Lord and The Book of Boba Fett? Let us know in the comments. And don’t forget to check out the ComicBook forum to see what other fans are saying.