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Potential Boba Fett Spinoff Not Likely to Start Filming Until 2020
The much-rumored Boba Fett spinoff movie probably won't begin production until 2020. It seems for the entirety of their Disney era, Lucasfilm has been trying to get a project centering on the fan-favorite Star Wars bounty hunter off the ground. In fact, this particular film was so far along in development at one point, they were going to unveil a Boba Fett sizzle reel at Celebration 2015. However, shortly before the event, the studio pulled the plug on it and parted ways with one-time director Josh Trank.
Fortunately for fans of the Mandalorian, it seems Boba Fett is starting to get back on track. Recently, it was reported Logan filmmaker James Mangold would call the shots, but details beyond that are slim. Now, we might know when Lucasfilm will start rolling the cameras on Boba's standalone adventure.
According to Omega Underground, Boba Fett (which is said to film at Pinewood Studios in England) won't commence principal photography until 2020. The reasoning for this is Mangold's Ford vs. Ferrari, which will be in production this summer. Given the pedigree involved (Christian Bale and Matt Damon star), Omega Underground expects Ford vs. Ferrari to be a fall 2019 release, meaning Mangold will be preoccupied making the rounds on the festival circuit (among other obligations).
With this in mind, Boba Fett is almost certainly one of the nine Star Wars films said to be in development, but it's still not a guarantee it will see the light of day. Similar to the Obi-Wan Kenobi spinoff, Lucasfilm has yet to officially announce Boba Fett. They have confirmed projects like Rian Johnson's new trilogy and David Benioff & D.B. Weiss' series, but are mum on other individual character anthologies. It'll be interesting to see when (or if) that changes, especially since the studio is going to have to reveal their plans for the next phase of Star Wars movies in the near future. Episode IX, which premieres next year, is the only scheduled film remaining on the slate.
In the aftermath of Solo: A Star Wars Story disappointing at the box office, Lucasfilm is going to need to reevaluate a few things as they plot the course for their prized franchise. If a movie about Han Solo's youth doesn't generate much interest amongst moviegoers, an argument can be made that there isn't a real market for Star Wars spinoffs that focus heavily on a single familiar character - perhaps casting doubt on Obi-Wan and Boba Fett. Of course, Solo's biggest issue wasn't necessarily the concept; it was undone largely by a weak marketing campaign and a release date in the thick of summer. With smarter handling, Boba Fett could be a hit, so time will tell what will happen.
