Star Wars BACKLASH as Boba Fett movie is green-lit: ‘He’s a glorified action figure’

The character is a cult favourite, having appeared in the prequels and in the original Star Wars trilogy.

Now, The Hollywood Reporter has claimed that James Mangold is on board to direct, having previously worked on Logan.

LucasFilm and Disney have not yet confirmed the report, but Mangold will allegedly be co-writing the script with Simon Kinberg.

But despite the character’s enduring popularity, the Twitter reaction to this news is largely negative.

The criticism focusses mainly on a female character not being chosen for the spin-off treatment, and on another white male being booked to direct (as with every other Star Wars film to date).

Gavia Baker-Whitelaw tweeted: “i can’t believe they’re still going ahead with this idiotic idea instead of Leia or literally any woman. boba fett is a glorified action figure!!”

Rebecca Pahle added: “If Boba Fett gets a movie before Leia, I’m going to burn it all down. Leia was a political leader/spy/early member of the Rebel Alliance in her TEENS. Boba Fett was accidentally bumped into a hole in the ground by a blind man as a setup for a burp joke.”

Scott Wampler chimed in: “My scorching hot pitch for a BOBA FETT movie: don’t make a BOBA FETT movie.”

Chuck Wendig wrote: “I like James Mangold. LOGAN was a thing to behold. I don’t know that there’s a real reason to do a BOBA FETT movie.

“And this is just another white dude filmmaker swimming in a sea of overfished white dude filmmakers. Wish STAR WARS would deepen their bench on this.”

Others, however, were keen to point out a big positive point: Fett is a man of colour.

User @FangirlJeanne wrote: “Dear white women fans, Boba Fett is a man of color. He is played by a Māori actor. Stop acting like he is only important to white boy geeks. Sincerely, A super annoyed Pasifika fangirl who wants a Boba Fett movie featuring his granddaughter, Mirta Gev.”

The news comes as Solo: A Star Wars Story – a prequel for Han Solo – hits cinemas on a wave of generally positive, if not quite glowing, reviews.

The film stars Alden Ehrenreich in the lead role, taking over from Harrison Ford.

An Obi-Wan Kenobi film is also thought to be in development, while a Solo sequel focussing on Lando Calrissian is also thought to be under consideration.