The Book Of Boba Fett star Temuera Morrison, who plays the titular helmeted bounty hunter, has joked that his previously near-mute character “speaks far too much” in the new series.
Fett originally appeared in 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back and 1983’s Return Of The Jedi, played by Jeremy Bulloch, and was known for his stylish costume and quietly sinister temperament. Prior to a cameo appearance in The Mandalorian, he’d never removed his helmet. In The Book Of Boba Fett, however, he enjoys the most dialogue of any character.
“I was not very successful, I was hoping not to say as much as I have already in the first two episodes,” said Morrison, tongue-in-cheek, who first portrayed Boba’s clone father Jango in 2002’s Attack Of The Clones, before taking on the younger villain’s part. “I speak far too much. In fact, in the beginning I was trying to pass my lines on to [co-star] Ming-Na [Wen]. I said: ‘Excuse me director, I really feel that Ming-Na should say these lines, ’cause I wanna stay mysterious. I wanna stay quiet.’”
Wen plays Fett’s second-in-command, Fennec Shand, in the series – and joined in on the joke. “But then I caught on,” she said. “He wasn’t just trying to be a very generous actor – which he is – he was just trying to parlay some of the work to me.”
Morrison went on to explain that he even tried to get some of Fett’s dialogue cut – and hoped creator Jon Favreau, away in Atlanta, wouldn’t notice.
“I remember because Jon [Favreau] had actually gone away to Atlanta so I rang [co-writer] Noah Kloor that night,” he said. “I said: ‘Noah, this scene tomorrow. I’m talking too much! This Boba Fett doesn’t talk this much. Look, I’ve got all these paragraphs. I think we should get rid of it and Jon’s going to Atlanta so don’t tell him!’
“Then, that morning on set, I get a call from Atlanta: ‘Er, Jon wants you to say all that dialogue. We’ll cut it out later.’ So he was even keeping an eye on us from all areas.”
In a more candid response to fan fears that Fett’s charm would be diluted by overexposure, Morrison said: “I had to start talking I guess. We had to fill in the gaps and get out a little bit of information… But yes I think I did speak a bit too much in answer to your question.”
‘The Book Of Boba Fett’ releases new episodes every Wednesday on Disney+
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