The Boba Bounty

Let the rumors begin! Disney just announced it will debut a new animated series in fall 2014, taking place in the virtually untouched time between Episode III-IV. According to Disney officials, “Star Wars Rebels” takes place about 20 years before A New Hope.

This is great news for fans of Boba Fett – as it provides a great opportunity to not only tie up loose ends from “The Clone Wars,” but flesh out the rise of Boba Fett to the infamous role he plays in the Original Trilogy era.

We’ve heard there was a Boba Fett story arc planned for season six; we even saw an image of him in his Mandalorian armor. However, we never got to see his full transition from an angry orphan to a renowned bounty hunter. How did he wind up with his classic armor? How did he retrieve Slave I from Hondo?

It wouldn’t be too hard to put Boba Fett in this new animated series, especially since they’ve already got the animated model complete for the character. There’s also opportunity to show the foundation of Boba Fett’s and Darth Vader’s working relationship.

Since this series focuses on the Rebellion, this creates a place for bounty hunters as well. It was Prince Xizor who suggested the Emperor use bounty hunters as tools for the Galactic Empire in the Bounty Hunter War trilogy. He points out in the first novel, how there’s an advantage to using these individuals for certain missions.

We see how useful bounty hunters are to the Empire in “The Force Unleashed II,” when Darth Vader recruits Boba Fett to hunt down Juno to lure in Starkiller.

During this era, the Empire may even hire bounty hunters like Boba Fett to hunt down the remaining Jedi who escaped Order 66. There’s all kinds of possibilities – not to mention, many fans would like to see the fallout of Mandalore – it in itself a channel to bring in Boba Fett again.

Let’s also not forget in the time of “The Clone Wars,” Cad Bane is the No. 1 bounty hunter. How does Boba Fett take hold this role?

We need to demonstrate to Disney the fan base of Boba Fett. His role in “Rebels” would also provide a good build up to get younger fans excited about a Boba Fett spin-off film. To show our support, we’ll be starting a campaign to #BringBackBoba. It starts with a Facebook page, and hopefully we’ll be able to grow from there.

Help us build the foundation for our campaign. Here is the Facebook page we’ve created, which will receive a shorter URL once we fulfill the “like” requirements.

“Like” our Boba Fett’s Return in ‘Star Wars Rebels’ Facebook Page

When I first saw Kyle Newman’s “Fanboys” I was smitten by the decals on Hutch’s van. A company called FanWraps now empowers us to add character to our vehicles with its amazing selection of Star Wars decals – available at affordable prices.

These car wraps range in sizes from small to x-large and can accommodate any make or model of vehicle. They launched their first wave of designs earlier this month for Star Wars Day and they include character wraps of Yoda, Boba Fett, R2-D2 and more. They also have available wraps of vehicles like Slave I.

The website includes the background and history of each vehicle and character – proving this is a product designed by fans, not just cashing in off of popular franchises. The detail is amazing on these designs, virtually popping off the car. They’re easily removable as well, if you ever want to sale the car without the wraps.

You can pick up Boba Fett wraps for as low as $29.99 up to $49.99 depending on what size your aiming for. Check out their products at www.fanwraps.com.

While shows and video game projects are disappearing left and right, officially licensed merchandise has continued to pop up in retail locations throughout the United States. Some interesting Boba Fett items have been recently spotted – and reported on – by the teams over at Rebelscum.com and JediNews.co.uk.

Rebelscum posted earlier this week he ran across a half dozen or so Star Wars items during a visit to Pep Boys in Tampa, Fl.

Amongst his finds was a plastic Boba Fett garage stool – measuring a little under 3-feet tall and made of thick vinyl and chrome-plated legs. Pep Boy’s website describes this item as perfect for a fanboy’s garage or game room – but at an in-store price of $59.00 – it defiantly doesn’t fall in the realm of an impulse buy or random purchase.

Pep Boys is also carrying a plastic Boba Fett key chain, which comes with a plastic ring to attach keys on, and a plastic hook, which can be used to attach the helmet shaped emblem to a backpack and the likes. This item is more reasonably priced at $3.99 and can be found at select Pep Boy locations or ordered via their website.

Jedi News posted a very unique finding – window blinds, featuring a blueprint-like illustration of Slave I. The British-based company, Direct Blinds, is offering a wide array of blinds featuring iconic ships from science fiction franchises.

This item would really tie together your Geekcave, it’s a subtle but unique decoration for your collection’s room – the only thing that may stop you from ordering it immediately – is it’s price of 99 pounds.

That equals about $150 in American dollars – which doesn’t even include shipping to North America. Therefore, this is a perfect item for a collector with disposable income – for others, it’s something to bookmark until you have the money.

Rovio released its Cloud City update today. They hype surrounding this release was well deserved, the new level came with an initial 20 levels – featuring new game features, a clever approach to Boba Fett and new secret Easter eggs planted throughout previous worlds.

When Angry Birds Star Wars debuted late last year, fans of both franchises praised the game for its inventiveness. The characters could power up as you progressed through the game, mastering the Force, and there we discovered other neat functions – like Pigs with blasters, which if attacked correctly, would turn their fatal blaster bolts on their comrades.

Cloud City executes similar friendly fire scenarios. When you attack Boba  Fett, his jet packs throttles him through the air, taking out Pig Troopers and wrecking blocks. The bounty hunter first appears in the 17th level of Cloud City.

Cloud City also features air vents, which changes the trajectory of the birds. This can be used to get extra distance in flight, flinging debris at enemies and other clever uses.  

Rovio also planted five jet packs throughout the worlds, which if collected opens up a Boba Fett’s Missions – similar to the Bonus Level or Path of the Jedi. This stage can also be gained by paying .99 cents, but it’s easy enough to collect the jet packs.

The jet packs can be found on the Death Star (2-32), Tatooine (1-23), Hoth (3-27), Cloud City (4-4) and Cloud City (4-19). The Death Star level proves the most challenging to grab, but can be done with a swing of Luke Skywalker’s Light Saber.

Once you’ve gathered all the jet packs, Boba Fett’s Missions opens up and it features eight levels. I imagine more will be added over time, most likely whenever Jabba’s Palace is introduced to the game. Also, there are no signs of Slave I in the game yet, but I’m eager to see how the ship will function when introduced.

Rovio released an exclusive trailer of the Cloud City update to Angry Birds Star Wars late last week, showing the first footage of new dynamics to the game – including the anticipated addition of Boba Fett.

The images streaming out of MTV.com and GameTrailers.com are being billed as the first public unveiling of Boba Fett, but images of the bounty hunter and Slave I, whether by accident or design, surfaced late last year through various Angry Birds Star Wars coloring books – as originally reported by The Boba Bounty.

MTV reports one of the new in-game obstacles features steam gates that have capacity to change the birds’ trajectory mid-flight. The Cloud City update will reportedly include 20 levels. Other surprises may lay in weight – since no new “good guys” have been hinted at (read Lando) through trailers or upcoming merchandise.

There’s no official date for release of Cloud City or how much of the levels include Boba Fett. We do know through promotional images, there are versions of Boba Fett with and without a blaster, and images of Slave I – which, will most likely appear at the “boss” stage of the planet stage.

Boba Fett’s jetpack should also prove interesting. While it makes the character more difficult to target, it also leads the bounty hunter into taking out his own side. This is nice, because he gives a nod to the anti-hero line Boba Fett walks in much of the Expanded Universe.

The last few months have been disappointing for Star Wars fans. We’ve seen the cancellation of The Clone Wars and the release of prequel films in 3D, a postponement for Star Wars Detours and a few video games put on hold.  

Some retail stores have also been consolidating their Star Wars merchandise. This past New York Toy Fair was universally reported as being underwhelming in terms of new lines of action figures.

I walked into Wal-Mart a couple weeks ago to see it tore down the aisle display for its Star Wars merchandise. Besides Hasbro’s upcoming Black Series, there are really no new waves of action figures being released this year in North America.

Therefore, the pegs are being filled with beaten, damaged figures on cards that were lying around warehouses or storage rooms.

During a grocery shopping trip earlier today at Target, I was not expecting to find the first wave of Fighter Pods Rampage Series 4 was on the shelves. One of the new vehicle sets included in this new wave is the Slave I.

I failed to find images of Fighter Pods Rampage Series 4 emerge from of the New York Toy Fair. Also, the Fighter Pod’s website is not updated with images from its new waves, so I successfully embarrassed my wife, as I performed a little dance of surprise and excitement in the middle of the toy aisle.

The Slave I is beautifully sculpted and painted in the blue and silver color scheme of Jango Fett. Since this toy line is known for releasing variants, I imagine we’ll see another Slave I, painted in Boba Fett’s color scheme, in an upcoming wave.

The set comes with three pods, which fit one pod at a time snugly at the rear of the Slave I – where the Cargo Bay is usually positioned. By pressing the cockpit window, the pod is launched or dropped from the vehicle. In my personal (biased) opinion, this is one of the most well designed vehicles in the Fighter Pods line.

This set also comes with eight characters, including new versions of Obi Wan Kenobi, Jango Fett, Saesee Tiin, Asajj Ventress, Luke Skywalker, Sandtrooper Hologram, Chewbacca Hologram and R-3PO.

Most of the characters and vehicles from Series 4 come from the prequel era and The Clone Wars. This is likely to many toy companies planning their toy lines to be released around the time of the prequel movies were going to be released in 3D.

This first wave introduces a fourth version of Boba Fett to the series – a Boba Fett Hologram figurine. The hologram is sculpted in red plastic, identifying him as part of the Dark Side characters. Boba Fett Hologram stands at a relaxed position, with his blaster resting at his side.

As far as I’ve seen, the Boba Fett Hologram can only be found in the product lines’ blind packages. However, I’ve not seen the full line of new vehicles or combo packs, so it might very well be found in those later this season.

I’ve only seen the Slave I set at my local Target, but nothing on the packaging hints at it being an exclusive to this retail location. If you’ve spotted this set at other stores, please comment on this post and to let us know.

Disney announced today it would not be going forward with anymore seasons of The Clone Wars on television.

It is still unclear whether or not they’ll release more seasons, currently in various stages of production, through DVD releases or web exclusives.

Hours after the announcement, actor Daniel Logan shared his thoughts about the cancellation via is Facebook page:

“With the announcement today of the winding down of Star Wars: The Clone Wars I just wanted to say a few things. I am very proud, honored & thankful to have been a part of The Clone Wars over the years. I want to thank George Lucas, Dave Filoni, Cary Silver, Meagan Finnerty, Tracy Cannobbio, all the cast & crew and especially the fans for making this so fun & fulfilling to be a part of. Star Wars has been a huge part of my life since I was 13 & I am thankful for all it has given me. I am sure my journey with Star Wars has many more adventures & I look forward to all that is in store for the future. There are still a few epic story arcs of The Clone Wars that will be available this year. It is some of the best work Lucasfilm Animation has produced, so stay tuned. MTFBW!”

If we look past Logan’s comments thanking the cast and crew of The Clone Wars, there’s an intriguing aside about future story arcs that will be available later this year. It’s interesting he made the remark as if it were a sure thing. My speculation is he’s referring to the rumored Boba Fett story arc that was pushed to what would have been the next season.

Earlier this year an image of Boba Fett in his Mandalorian armor was released with promotional images for this last season, but quickly removed, but not before it was snatched up by fans. Word is, the story arc showed a matured Boba Fett and how he reclaimed his father’s armor and ship – Slave I. Last we saw Slave I, it was in the possession of Hondo during the Young Jedi story arc.

What could Boba Fett’s story arc have been? Was it tied to the fall of Mandalore? The most disappointing thing about the cancelation of The Clone Wars, is we at the very least, will be delayed in seeing this tale – which could have been the most promising story arc for Boba Fett of the series.

Let’s hope they release these episodes and these questions can get answers. Comment on this post to share your speculations.

“I deliver. Once I’ve caught my prey, nothing stops me from bringing it in – nothing. If I take on the job, I complete it and everybody in the galaxy knows that.”

Zen Studios released the first trailer for its digital Star Wars Pinball game, the first tables including Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Boba Fett and Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

Starting Feb. 26-27, the games can be downloaded on Xbox LIVE, Playstation Network and through multiple mobile platforms.

The trailer teases viewers with engaging game play, which features fast moving graphics, authentic sounding audio and iconic homage to the original trilogy.

The first trailer introduces the gravely, accented voice of Boba Fett and pans to a view of a vast arena, which includes the Sarlacc Pit; secret doors harboring Stormtroopers, Jabba the Hutt and Darth Vader; icons of other bounty hunters; and dozens of moving pieces.

The Boba Fett game will feature several options to execute action. The goal for the player is to complete missions by scoring a certain amount of points, triggering letters to spell out specific words, or hitting various targets – all the while avoiding being sucked into the Sarlacc Pit.  

This isn’t Zen Studio’s first venture into digital pinball. After a number of original titles, they’ve released a half dozen Marvel franchise theme games. Officials stated there will be about 10 Star Wars digital tables available planned for this series.

I’m excited to check out this game, once it’s available. This is a fresh way to experience the Star Wars universe and there’s a reason pinball games have been a popular arcade style game for more than three decades. However, I wonder who this game is aimed toward – I feel it will be embraced more so by the original trilogy generation.

I have a feeling Zen Studios is also not quite sure which demographic will download this game the most, explaining their choices in initial releases. The Empire table will appeal to the OT players, the Boba Fett table will demonstrate stand alone character power and the Clone Wars table is probably targeted toward the younglings.

Depending on which of these versions proves most popular will most likely decide which direction the company steers for future releases.

Check out the trailer below and let us know what you think:

Could Han Solo and Boba Fett be named couple of the year for 2013?

A few weeks ago rumors flew around the Internet about spin-off films featuring the smuggler and bounty hunter. Then at last week’s New York City Toy Fair, it was announced an exclusive 6-inch Black Series Boba Fett figure, toting Han Solo in Carbonite, would be available at the upcoming San Diego Comic Con.

(It has been confirmed Han Solo in Carbonite would only be available through the comic con, but it is unclear whether Boba Fett’s figure is also a special offer. Since he’s not been named in the first wave of figures in the new series, I’m leaning toward, yes.)

Hasbro also said it would release Boba Fett’s Slave I, with Han Solo in Carbonite, in traditional scale, as an Amazon.com exclusive this spring. The item is part of Hasbro’s Vintage Collection.

Additionally note, Boba Fett made an appearance in Dark Horse’s “Star Wars: In the Shadow of Yavin” #2, which hinted at future altercations between the smuggler and Fett throughout the story arc. Not to get off topic, but I’m still crossing my fingers the subplot will introduce a fresh angle to the two men’s relationship.

While it’s exciting to see new Boba Fett merchandise hit the shelves, I’m growing tired of how Hasbro executes the release of new figures and ships. Its common knowledge that Boba Fett’s was first offered as a mail-away offer through Kenner, and the controversial “missile firing action” tied to the toy.

If you take an inventory of past Boba Fett figures, quite a few have not been included in the base sets, but instead, have been obtained through special offers. Most often you have to purchase five Star Wars action figures and mail their proof-of-purchases.

Even action figures that aren’t mail-away offers are hard to find. Take for example the “Rise of Boba Fett” battle set, which included a young Boba Fett, Slave I in his father’s color scheme and a number of other figures and a star fighter. This set was an exclusive to Toys ‘R Us and not stocked very deep.

The Villain Set featuring Boba Fett, Snaggletooth and a Tusken Raider was a Target exclusive. There’s only a few recent examples of Fett action figures that have been found at multiple retailers and in decent quantities.

Due to the practice of releasing Boba Fett toys as exclusives or special offers, if you’re a targeted collector, like I am, this results in having to end up paying more in the second market. I hope that in future releases; if Hasbro continues to make it more difficult to grab Boba Fett merchandise they will at least execute their figure design in a new way.

Instead of another repaint of past figures, I want to see new accessories and molds. This is one reason I’m excited about the 6-inch Black Series action figure, and hope it will find its way into retail stores, rather than eBay or swap meets.

Hasbro appears to be putting a lot of effort and thought into the accessories in their 6-inch line. I’ve been musing upon what new weapons; items may be included in the Boba Fett figure. What are you hoping might be included with the 6-inch Boba Fett?