Boba Fett Stars Talk Danny Trejo ‘Surprise,’ Introduction of Young Mod Gang as ‘Homage’ to George Lucas
The following contains casting spoilers from Episode 3 of Disney+’s The Book of Boba fett.
As expected as it was to see Danny Trejo pop up in The Book of Boba Fett — after all, filmdom’s erstwhile Machete has appeared in many of his second cousin Robert Rodriguez’s projects — it still snuck up on Boba himself.
Trejo’s casting as a Rancor wrangler “actually was kept a bit of a surprise,” series lead Temuera Morrison told TVLine during the show’s Television Critics Association winter press tour panel. “I didn’t know until the last minute, until Danny got there that day for filming.”
Morrison pointed out that he and Trejo “go way back, to the [1998] movie Six Days, Seven Nights,” in which the two played pirates chasing after Harrison Ford and Anne Heche’s characters. As such, Morrison was an established fan. “Danny has got that great face, great texture, great voice… We had a great time together” as Boba got schooled on How to Train Your Rancor.
Ming-Na Wen, who co-stars as Boba’s assassin cohort, Fennec Shand, attested that she is “a massive Danny Trejo fan,” and said it was “inevitable” that he would show up, given that Rodriguez is showrunner and sometime director on the seven-episode Star Wars series. “Danny is the coolest human being,” she added. “He has the heart of a warrior, and the personality of a teddy bear.”
Also new to the Tatooine mix in Episode 3 was a small gang of cybernetic-enhanced “insolent youths” known as The Mod Gang, led by Drash (Yellowjackets‘ Sophie Thatcher).
Motoring around Mos Espa on shiny, brightly colored swoop bikes, “I thought they brought a lot of color to it,” Morrison said, “and a lot of youthfulness, of course.”
Surveying Fett’s surprising decision to recruit the street rats to his small army, Morrison said that his character likely was considering some lessons learned during his (re)formative time with the Tuskens.
“It was another little thing about Boba, where he’s trying to sort things out and says, ‘Oh, maybe we can get these guys on our side,'” the Kiwi actor ventured. “If you can’t beat these people, sometimes it’s good to join them — or get them to join you.”
Wen in turn said that “if you know [Star Wars creator] George Lucas,” the Mods and their rides represent “a real homage to a lot of things he’s always loved” — including his first major directorial work, 1973’s American Graffiti. “At the same time,” she said, “It lends itself to the storytelling, and learning more about the citizens of Tatooine.”
Besides, Morrison chimed in, Boba Fett’s digs are quite sprawling, so every helping hand helps.
“Hey, it’s a big palace!” he noted with a chuckle. “We can put one in the kitchen to do the dishes….”
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Danny Trejo seems like the coolest dude.
He always comes across as so formidable on film, so it’s hilarious that he’s such a tiny, jolly human being in real life.
Well, he comes across that way on film because he is. Don’t get me wrong, he seems like a great guy who has had one of the most commendable life turn around as you can find. But he was in prison and got into film after training guys for boxing scenes. He isn’t just a film badass. You probably wouldn’t want to get him mad. But the fact he’s remade himself he deserves all the credit in the world.
You say Mod Gang, I saw Power Rangers
Teenagers with Attitude!
This episode ruined the show for me. It was so outside of everything we saw in SW: E4. IYKYK
So many colors, very goofy scenes (the fruit stand speeder crash, ugh)
Boba is supposed to be a feared bounty hunter, but I guess that all changed. Pity.
This was a character who got bonked by a blind guy, slammed into a wall and then rolled into a monster’s mouth. I think the show has still done more to rehab his legacy than tarnish it so far.
Also, Boba wasn’t in E4 of any Star Wars series I can think of.
Being pedantic, he actually is in the special edition of A New Hope, in the scene with Han and Jabba that was restored.
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The supposed explanation for his silly death is that there’s a flaw in the model of jetpack he uses, there was a nod to this in The Mandalorian when Mando does the same thing to Cobb Vanth (wearing Fett’s armour at the time).
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I agree they’re doing a decent job of fleshing out aspects of Fett’s character, such as his code of honour despite not being a Mandalorian (as we saw again in The Mandalorian when he still helps Mando even after he got his armour back) but the actual plot and characters thus far are pretty lame IMO.
LOL, I bow to your pedantry.
And I agree that the stakes and peril have been relatively low so far, so an escalation in the coming weeks would be welcome.
Really liked what they did with fleshing out Tusken culture, though.
Very true but that was some super early fan service. That really made no sense. I mean the whole scene was unnecessary (I mean the whole Special Editions were unnecessary) but Boba was a bounty Hunter, not Jabba’s stooge. Technically the Empire/Darth Vader brought Boba in. He had worked for Jabba before but wasn’t exclusive. It was just “LOOK, Boba Fett!”
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Wasn’t he actually a Mandalorian once and for all? I thought they questioned him and when he got his armor back he showed Mando his code on the 3-D wrist hologram that he was authentic.
The code showed that the armor was officially and legally inherited by Jango, and then by Boba, but I don’t know whether that actually makes him an honorary Mandalorian, on par with a foundling like Din. (Certainly neither of them are Mandalorian by blood)
Bo-Katan says to Boba you’re not a Mandalorian and he replies never said I was when they meet. However Mando is happy that, as Jango was given the armour as a foundling and Boba inherited it, that he was entitled to it even if he didn’t follow the Way of the Mandalore. Mando also says at some point (different ep) that Mandalorian is a creed, not a race.
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I actually liked the Jabba/Han scene in as much as it established a lot more about Han and what happened to him later, but agreed there was no need for Boba Fett to be there.
Yeah, I didn’t go back and rewatch the scene, but I thought it established his bona fides, but perhaps more his armor possession than Mandalor roots.
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My main problem with the Jabba scene (beyond the horrible not to scale animation to make it fit in) is it’s almost a word for word redo of the Greedo scene, which obviously replaced and served the same purpose.
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But for the most part all the special edition changes were trash. How Disney+ didn’t make as a selling point the theatrical cut I’ll never know. (And since YouTube seems to be able to clean up the footage fine I don’t buy the they don’t have the original film excuse anymore).
I feel like this show jumped the shark with the Spykidz Mod gang. It’s just not the SWU and it’s awful.
Ewoks and Gungans also exist in this universe. Can we really get on our high horse over some cyborg kids?
How is a bunch of supposedly poor teen Mods who can afford Vespas, plastic surgery, Mod fasion an HOMAGE to Lucas? Lucas was NEVER a Mod. He was a Rocker more than a MOD. A Hot Rodder. That’s a bunch a hooey crap just trying to cover their butts. And in the same episode as the Tusken Massacre? Favreau really pulled out all the stops with his manipulative lazy writing to kill them off once they served their purpose as a plot device – not too much unlike the Black Friend trope in Film. Where is Filoni?
I think the gang are Mods in that they have cybernetic modifications, not because they have anything to do with the 50s/60s cultural movement, right?
And if Favreau was really concerned about the Tusken Community, when their Banthas were sniped down, he would have shown them burying their Banthas. The Bantha is loyal to one master his whole life and when they die the Tuskens give them a tremendous burial rite according to Tusken lore. And why do all these Bounty Hunters and Assassins never carry a damn blaster? BK goes into Boba’s PALACE without one? That was just stupid.
again has there been anyone more versastile then danny trejo as he can be the bad guy or be in family fare like the spy kids movies or the george lopez show
I didn’t mind the “bikers” since speeder bikes have been a part of SW since the beginning….however I did not like the bright primary colors of them. Absolutely NOTHING is that brightly colored on Tatooine.
Except for most pod racers.
The Mod Gang was also influenced by the film “Quadrophenia” based on the album by The Who.
Would be great if Boba develops Drash as his “Thomas Cromwell” from Wolf Hall!
This was my favorite episode so far. I’m already so tired of the “this isn’t Star Wars” chatter. Really? Jar Jar Binks, furry teddy bears who were ready to cook Han Solo for dinner, a 50s diner, and countless other weird things make up the Star Wars universe… but a bike gang with colorful bikes is just “too much.” SMH. Just enjoy it! Or turn it off.