Latest STAR WARS Rumor: Michael B. Jordan Considered for Boba Fett
Over the weekend, a big crazy rumor hit the internet that Fantastic Four star Michael B. Jordan has been considered for the role of Boba Fett in the standalone Star Wars film that's in development at Lucasfilm.
The news came from The Wrap's Jeff Sneider during an episode of the Meet the Movie Press Podcast (via Latino-Review). Sneider is a well-connected entertainment journalist who lands solid scoops all of the time, so there actually is some credence to this news.
Fantastic Four director Josh Trank was attached to helm A Star Wars Story that was rumored to focus on Boba Fett. Lucasfilm ended up letting him go, reportedly because of the drama surrounding the Fantastic Four production. After they parted ways, the studio was looking at bringing on Straight Outta Compton director F. Gary Gray, who just signed on to direct Furious 8.
If Jordan were cast in the role of Boba Fett it would really change some things up. The young Boba Fett that we've come to know is a clone of his father, Jango Fett. He was played by actor Temuera Morrison, who is of Maori, Scottish, and Irish descent. Since Boba Fett is a clone of his dad, you’d think he would somewhat resemble him because that’s how clones work, but maybe they are looking to really switch things up. Morrison's voice was even used to dub over Fett’s voice in The Empire Strikes Back for the most recent DVD/Blu-ray release.
It’s easy to see why some Star Wars fans might be upset about seeing Jordan in the role of Boba Fett because it simply doesn’t make sense, especially with what we know about the character. But maybe there’s a chance that the Boba Fett we see in this upcoming standalone movie isn’t really Boba Fett. Maybe the story leads to another character taking over Fett’s armor and identity. That would definitely make things interesting, But then it really wouldn’t be a movie about Boba Fett and would probably confuse fans even more.
Casting Jordan in this iconic role would really confuse things, especially since everything we are seeing developed now is canon. This kind of casting would really throw all that off. I personally don’t think this is something that will happen at this point, but it’s strange that this is something Lucasfilm might have been considering. I imagine if they were, they had a good reason, and there would have been an explanation. Jordan is a hell of a great actor, though, so if they do have a place for him in the movie... awesome.
Lawrence Kasdan (The Empire Strikes Back) is writing the script for the film, and at one point he and the studio were reportedly having issues cracking the story for the movie. Lucasfilm still hasn't found a new director for the project, but after Trank left, they opted to push Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s Han Solo movie instead.
When Lucasfilm does eventually find a director and start development on the project again, I trust that they know what they’re doing with it, regardless of previous reports.