Jay G.

He was famously introduced in an animated short in the Star Wars Holiday Special, so there was hype for his character before ESB even came out. Then there was the 3 year gap between ESB and ROTJ, so there was time for the mythos of the character to build before he was knocked off.

Mike86

I knew that he was introduced in the Holiday Special and the action figure that could be sent away for and all that. It seems like Boba Fett was a character that was supposed to have a more substantial role but in terms of the films never really met that potential.

In terms of the actual films though he really didn't do a whole lot in them. I mean basically all he did was follow the Millenium Falcon to Bespin and took Han to Jabba after he was frozen in the carbonite. Aside from that he was part of the battle at Jabba's palace and basically went out like a joke. The film could be interesting if it filled in some of the gaps of what he was doing between Episode II and Episode V though I think. Even if the film is placed after Return of the Jedi it could be interesting, but I think it would be better if we got some more backstory or saw him do more things that made the audience care more about him.

Sean O'Hara

No, I had a Boba Fett action figure, too, though not the mail-order one. But I also had Bossk, IG-88, Bib Fortuna, Max Rebo and his band, etc., etc. Fett didn't really stand out and like I said, I didn't even know his name until much later. He was just that guy with the rocket pack who falls into the Sarlac Pit to me.

The Cow

I still have a few of him from the mail-in offer. It's not like he was hard to get or anything. Plus, it was very disappointing when they decided not to ship ones with a rocket that fired as originally advertised. I never thought much of him either.

aintnosin

I was a teenager when TESB first hit theaters and I remember knowing who Boba Fett was before the movie was out. Whether or not he was a big deal as a character, Lucas clearly thought he was (but he also felt the same way about Jar-Jar Bink 20 years later, so what does he know?).

After Return of the Jedi, I remember thinking that they had taken a character with the potential to be cool and done nothing with him.

hasslein

He out "cooled" the stormtroopers & Vader's armor... I thought Empire was just a teaser for the huge role he was to play in Revenge of the Jedi... my heart sank when the sarlaac burped....

aintnosin

That's poetry man. Pure poetry.

Josh-da-man

I can't speak for anyone else, but I was a big Boba Fett fan when I was a kid (after ESB and before ROTJ came out). He was the only character I had a 12" action figure of, and the only one I wanted. (Fucking Wookie scalps! He was wearing Wookie scalps!)

The appeal to me at the time was that he was just badass bounty hunter who came from out of nowhere and completely fucked everything up for everyone. But he wasn't an agent of the Empire, just a mercenary out to make a fast buck. And then he carts off Han Solo at the end, and you don't know where he's taking him.

And then ROTJ came out and I was really bummed out... Boba Fett goes out like a complete bitch. His cool James Bond gadgets all malfunctioned, and a blind man knocked him into the Sarlaac Pit. Never mind that there was really no point in even having Boba Fett hanging around Jabba's palace waiting to get killed. He should have been off doing another job or something.

I was also disappointed that Jabba the Hutt was so easy to find. He's living in a big castle of Tatooine? He was there the whole time, chillin' with Boba Fett and a bunch of fake-looking puppets? Really? That was it? All of the anticipation, and they all just go back to Tattooine? There's no big search for Han, no secret hide-out for Jabba?

taffer

Jabba is essentially a Mafia boss like Al Capone. They are basically untouchable, so they don't need to hide.

Michael Corvin

Yeah, I thought that was pretty straight forward.

Shannon Nutt

No, he was super-popular when ESB came out. As I said earlier...there were a ton of fan boys (like me) who speculated he was the 'another' that Yoda spoke of. You have to remember that at this point in our lives, we had only seen two really good films and thought George Lucas was a genius.

Sean O'Hara

Then why do Lando and Chewie go off at the end of Empire to find Jabba like it's some difficult mission?

hanshotfirst1138

Because at that point it was being written by someone other than Lucas ? I honestly just think it was to cover up in case they couldn't get Ford back, which is of course why they froze Han in the first place.

hasslein

Mr. Flix

I thought Boba Fett was boring as a kid. The only reason I ever played with the figure was because he was like the only Star Wars character who could fly. Otherwise, he saw way less action than random characters like Ree Yees and Squid Head did.

Dr. DVD

Just what was their plan if Ford didn't come back? Shrug it off as an "oh well, sucks to be him now I guess,"?

JTH182

Pussy, man. It's all about that sweet intergalactic pussy.

hanshotfirst1138

Even fictional characters are getting laid around these forums !

That's a good question, I don't know. I think it's one of those things they were probably planning on figuring out when they got there if need be. After they rescue him in ROTJ, he doesn't do much and his character is fairly passive compared to the brash one in the last two films.

Shannon Nutt

One of the reasons ESB is so strong and ROTJ is so weak is because of Ford. He's basically the lead in ESB (yes, even moreso than Hamill), but - as noted above - he's given nothing to do in ROTJ.

It's no surprise that one of the rumors surrounding the new movie is that Ford gets the most screentime of the returning cast. JJ and Lawrence Kasdan no doubt realize he was one of main reasons the first two films are so darn good.

hasslein

One of the few choices I was happy about was Max Von Sydow. He has always been one of my favorite actors. I hope with Billy Dee the rumors that he is dead at the beginning are false, and they are holding off on revealing his appearance as a surprise. If one has a resource they should use it. He was great on Modern Family. Maybe JJ got his franchises confused and he is doing "The Search for Lando"

mcnabb

Han Solo gives a SW movie a good balance between Jedi Characters and Human Characters, and that is what the PT was solely lacking. If you focus too much on Jedi stuff, the movies tend to take themselves too seriously, whereas a character like Han gives you that human view on the galaxy, and adds that touch of humor and sarcasm.

Abrams has to understand that alot of OT fans like me gravitated to the good guys and weren't all caught up in the Darth Vader/Jedi/Sith stuff for 2 hours. If Abrams can have that mix of jedi and human stuff in these movies with Han and other characters for the ST, I think they can get back to the spirit of the OT.

joe_b

TMZ has posted a gallery from the Abu Dhabi shoot. Mostly just costumed extras, but this thing was definitely a highlight:

http://www.tmz.com/photos/2014/06/02...1/sw-7-15-jpg/

Shannon Nutt

Again, it's pretty awesome to see practical over CGI. That gives me a lot of hope for this film.

Also, it's a pretty good bet that's Tatooine, as picture #43 has a moisture vaporator in the background.

Artman

That overhead gate/entrance is an exact replica of an old Ralph McQuarrie painting! (minus the hanging lights) It's in the 'Illustrated SW Universe' book.

It could be anywhere of course, but in the book it's an entryway to

Kicker_of_Elves

Good eye man. It looks like they might be borrowing parts of Ralph's work or unused ideas and combining them with something new.