Dave Filoni is a ‘Walking Encyclopedia’ for ‘The Book Of Boba Fett’

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We’re now just over a week away from The Book of Boba Fett‘s premiere and fans are getting hyped for this peek into Star Wars‘ sinister criminal underworld. In addition, the show is a nice substitute for a third season of The Mandalorian as it continues directly on from that show’s second season, which ended by showing that Boba Fett is now Tatooine’s kingpin of crime. However, as the trailers indicate, the crown will rest heavily on his head.

Famed action director Robert Rodriguez is helming the show with support from Star Wars guru Dave Filoni. The latter has become a beloved figure amongst fans: expanding the universe in The Clone Wars, Rebels, and The Bad Batch and a key element in The Mandalorian‘s success.

One factor that makes him so valuable is the wealth of Star Wars knowledge he possesses. Temuera Morrison has said having him around makes it very easy to stay on top of the lore, and co-star Jennifer Beals agrees. She plays an as-yet-unnamed Twi’lek and found Filoni’s advice invaluable.

Speaking with Variety, she said:

“Dave Filoni is just extraordinary. He’s like a walking encyclopedia, instead of relying on the internet — which, you know, I don’t know who the authors are of certain articles that I’m looking at — I would go to the source. I would go to Dave, and we would talk about character and how is this person different perhaps than the lineage that’s come before, and what has informed her experiences and then how does that change the way she looks or behaves — or dresses for that matter.”

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Beals appears to have arrived in The Book of Boba Fett as a complete Star Wars newbie, not knowing anything about The Mandalorian:

“As it happened, I didn’t know about The Mandalorian really, either. My older brother called me and said, ‘I’m going to go watch The Mandalorian with [my] kids.’ And I said, ‘Oh, tell me about The Mandalorian,’ and he started telling me about the show and how great it was. And I walked into the house and the phone rang and that was the offer [for The Book of Boba Fett]. So that night, I started watching. I was just gobsmacked. It just was so beautiful with so cinematic and heart-centered at the same time.”

She was still in the dark when she actually arrived on set, saying:

“I mean, I knew about the character. But this is how good they are at the lockdown of secrets: Even when I first stepped onto the set, I didn’t realize that I was in The Book of Boba Fett. I just knew that I was getting to be part of this story.” 

It’s been a while since Star Wars has had a prominent new Twi’lek character, so here’s hoping Beals does her justice.

The Book of Boba Fett premieres on Dec. 29 on Disney Plus.