The Book Of Boba Fett Review: 8 Ups & 1 Down For Chapter 1: 'Stranger In A Strange Land'

"Jabba ruled with fear; I intend to rule with respect."

by Andrew Pollard
The Book of Boba Fett Chapter 1 A Stranger in a Strange Land
Disney

After months of anticipation, The Book of Boba Fett has now finally landed on Disney+.

With Temuera Morrison's Boba finally turning up to make his presence known as The Mandalorian's second year raced to a close, fans were left with huge smiles on their faces at the news that this beloved cult character was to get his own spin-off series as he takes over Jabba's Palace.

In this first episode - titled Stranger in a Strange Land - audiences got to see the lay of the land for Boba in Tatooine, whilst also being brought up to speed on certain key elements of the character's murky past.

It's worth noting, due to Stranger in a Strange Land only hitting Disney+ today as of this writing, that means that only a select few official screenshots are available for this episode at this point in time.

With that in mind, then, here are the pros and cons of the first outing for a hugely promising venture to a galaxy far, far away.

Downs...

1. Not Enough Present Day Action For Some

The Book of Boba Fett A Stranger in a Strange Land
Disney

For the vast majority of this opening episode's 38-minute run time, the action is largely focussed on flashing out Boba's backstory from when we last chronologically saw the character on the silver screen in Return of the Jedi.

While long-time fans will pump the air with joy at getting to see how Fett survived his Episode VI fate - that being slowly digested by a Sarlacc - some newer fans may get frustrated with just how little time is spent in the here and now present-day of The Book of Boba Fett.

When Stranger in a Strange Land starts, we find Boba looking to establish himself as the new Crime Lord of Tatooine. By the time the episode concludes, Fett is in the exact same position as when the outing opened - and this might slightly disappoint those expecting The Book of Boba Fett to directly power forward from where we left things off at the end of The Mandalorian's second season.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.