Robert Rodriguez is one of the most accomplished filmmakers working today. And he’s achieved most of his notoriety from developing his own ideas and franchises. According to a new interview with THR, that’s how he likes doing things—on his own terms. Then Lucasfilm called him up and asked him to join the “Star Wars” universe and Rodriguez immediately said yes. But for “The Book of Boba Fett,” Rodriguez contends that it’s a corner of the “Star Wars” universe that still lets him have that freedom he loves so much.
In the interview, Rodriguez explained that working on “The Book of Boba Fett,” in which he not only directs several episodes but he also voices a couple of characters, doesn’t mean that he’s breaking his own code of not working on “premier properties.” You see, Boba Fett is a unique case.
“I usually avoid premier properties — you’ll never be able to please everybody, it’s a losing game,” Rodriguez said. “I’d rather go do something I’ve created so nobody can say, ‘Hey, that’s wrong because …’ I created it, so it can be anything I want it to be. I love that freedom. That changed with Boba because he was a character that was always underserved. It was a character way more popular than he should have been, based on [his limited screen time]. So it’s almost like starting with an original character. You can kind of do anything you want, so long as you make him cool and don’t make him a buffoon.”
So, what type of freedom is explored in the upcoming ‘Boba Fett’ series? Enough freedom that it means he can’t really talk about what the show is truly about. In fact, he said the teaser trailer that was released was cryptic and didn’t show too much because even if they show more of Episode 1, it’ll contain spoilers.
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“We can’t use the second half of the first episode because it gives so much away,” Rodriguez teased. “Things turn up you don’t expect, you see things we couldn’t believe we got to do. Every episode has big surprises.”
Oh, and before you say it—yes, Robert Rodriguez did recently direct “Alita: Battle Angel,” which is based on another IP. So, sure, ‘Boba Fett’ isn’t the only time he worked on an established character. And speaking of ‘Alita,’ apparently Rodriguez is ready for a sequel… maybe.
“[James Cameron] and I talked about [an ‘Alita’ sequel] recently, and we’re still very interested,” he revealed. “I told him, ‘Let me deliver Boba and then let’s figure out a pitch.’”
“The Book of Boba Fett” arrives on Disney+ on December 29.