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Another year, another season of The Mandalorian done. Season 2’s action and surprise–packed finale was more than many fans could have hoped for, and yet the highly acclaimed series managed to pack in an even bigger twist in a post-credit scene that may impact the future of the entire show.
If you clicked out of The Mandalorian before watching all of the credits and reaching the post-credit scene, which was a first in Star Wars media history, please do that now. We’ll wait.
Ok, now that we’re all on the same page it’s time for the discourse. In the post-credit scene, Boba Fett returns to Jabba the Hutt’s palace on Tatooine with his new partner Fennec Shand and blasts the crap out of everyone in there (including original trilogy character Bib Fortuna, who apparently took over Jabba’s operation after Leia dispatched the big slug in Return of the Jedi). With everyone gone, Boba takes a seat on Jabba’s throne and Fennec grabs a bottle of spotchka. Just as the revelation that Boba and Fennec are the new crime lords of Tatooine sinks in, The Mandalorian twists again by closing the season with a title card: The Book of Boba Fett.
The Book of Boba Fett could mean two things: Boba Fett is getting a spinoff show on Disney+ or the next season of The Mandalorian will follow Boba’s story instead of Din Djarin’s. At this point, it seems more likely that the latter is true for a few reasons.
The first of these is that the Disney investor call earlier this week announced a whole slate of new Star Wars shows and didn’t mention anything about Boba getting a show. Mentioning a Boba Fett show in the presentation wouldn’t really have ruined the surprise of The Mandalorian‘s post-credit scene, so there doesn’t appear to be a good reason to hold that reveal until now.
As for the other theory, recall that the episode titles for The Mandalorian‘s first two seasons have always been “chapters.” This finale was chapter 16 and had a satisfying ending for the tale of Grogu and Din (though Din has a lot more to worry about after he accidentally claimed ownership of the Darksaber/rule of Mandalore in the finale, whoops). Passing the baton to Boba Fett as THE Mandalorian of The Mandalorian makes sense as a way of moving on that still allows room for Din, Bo Katan, and other characters to appear in Season 3.
Starting over in Season 3 as Chapter 1 of The Book of Boba Fett also makes sense narratively. The Mandalorian Season 2 opened with someone else wearing Boba’s legendary green armor and teased actor Temuera Morrison in the final moments of the premiere. By the time he showed up later in the season, fans were anxious for another look at the character and Boba delivered on his abject awesomeness multiple times in the final three episodes. We could read this as The Mandalorian seeding interest in Boba for the entire season while waiting to deliver the ultimate payoff in the finale.
When The Mandalorian re-introduced Boba Fett played by Jango Fett actor Temuera Morrison, the show seemed to intentionally withhold answers to the fandom’s bigger questions about the character. How did Boba Fett escape the Sarlacc, for example, and what was he up to in the years between Return of the Jedi and The Mandalorian Season 2? Whatever his previous motives were, he discarded them in favor of helping Din reunite with Grogu, but focusing the next season on Boba may finally answer some of those burning queries.
If The Mandalorian Season 3 is the Book of Boba Fett, however, it does open the door to later season beings the books of other Mandalorians. With Din winning the Darksaber and becoming de facto ruler of Mandalore, perhaps The Book of A Very Pissed Off Bo-Katan is planned for Season 4?
Watch The Mandalorian on Disney+.