Where does The Book of Boba Fett land on the Star Wars timeline?

Unlike the hero at the center of The Mandalorian, the headliner in The Book of Boba Fett has been a part of Star Wars lore for decades. Now his own show’s plot is set in more than one time period.

Boba Fett’s rise to prominence began way back in the later 1970s, when he was introduced as a mysterious bounty hunter prior to the release of The Empire Strikes Back. Chronologically, we meet him as a boy in Attack of the Clones. He was raised by his father, Jango Fett, who was also played by Temuera Morrison in that 2002 release.

Boba lived on the water planet Kamino, which was controlled by cloners who mass produced an army of clone troopers. Jango Fett worked for Count Dooku and battled the Jedis on Geonosis, ultimately losing his head, courtesy of Master Windu’s purple lightsaber.

Boba Fett witnessed his father’s death. During the Clone Wars, he worked with bounty hunters and sought revenge on Mace Windu. This is where he gained many of his stealthy and ruthless qualities, depicted in the Clone Wars animated series.

Decades later, he excelled in his profession in The Empire Strikes Back, under the employ of Jabba the Hutt. He crossed paths with Darth Vader since Vader was after Luke and Boba was tasked with bringing in Han Solo. He actually completes his mission and takes Han to Jabba encased in carbonite. In Return of the Jedi, Luke and Leia break Han free. Then a fight ensues over the dunes of Tatooine, which led to Jabba slain and Boba swallowed by a Sarlaac.

The Book of Boba Fett shows how he worked his way out of the predicament, shielded by his beskar armor, although he very nearly died. His armor was taken by Jawas and Boba ingratiated himself with the Tuskens. He then sets off on a mission to reclaim his ship, his suit, and his reputation.

Yet is in in The Mandalorian where Boba finds that a marshal has passed his armor to Din Djarin. Boba works with Din to help save Grogu and then returns to Tatooine to reign as crime lord. This is where The Book of Boba Fett picks up, but, as mentioned earlier, the series also illuminates the period of time right after he climbed out of the Sarlaac.

The Book of Boba Fett is the first Star Wars content to feature dual storylines. While others have presented moments of flashbacks or flashforwards, Boba Fett’s fourth episode spends a majority of its time in its “flashback” period. Not counting the anthology animated series, Star Wars: Visions, where each episode stands apart from one another, all preceding movies and shows tell a singular story contained within a specific time period; fitting rather nicely in the Star Wars timeline.

Because the post Return of the Jedi sections are unveiled as memories while Boba is healing in his Bacta tank, they are a type of flashback, however the show focuses entire sequences in this era, in all of its episodes thus far. We also glimpse Boba’s childhood, but these only last mere seconds. Based on how the show is currently presented, it wouldn’t be surprising if scenes or episodes are dedicated to Boba’s younger years. Perhaps if a second season is commissioned for The Book of Boba Fett, the series can keep its dual timeline structure, moving the current time forward and offering more of Boba’s past. This format is suitable given the title of the series.

The post Return of the Jedi portion of Boba Fett has now caught up with the The Mandalorian’s thread. In the latest episode, Boba revives Fennec after her run in with Din Djarin, which takes place during the first season of The Mandalorian, officially overlapping the two series.

Parallel storytelling is something one can attribute more to the Marvel Cinematic Universe than the Star Wars Universe. The most notable prior example is the last few episodes of Clone Wars running concurrently with the events of Revenge of the Sith, as Anakin transforms into Vader in the movie and then arrives in his iconic costume in the final seconds of the animated series. The Star Wars: Resistance show was also interwoven with the sequel trilogy, specifically sharing plot points from The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi.

With the “flashback” half of The Book of Boba Fett catching up to the first season of The Mandalorian, and the “present” half of the show directly succeeding the second season of The Mandalorian, it will now be more likely that Star Wars content will have overlapping timelines. More Mandalorian is expected this year and the Ahsoka show in development; meaning there could now be three Star Wars properties potentially taking place around the same time period. This opens up additional possibilities of characters swapping in and out of the shows at an increased rate.

The shows started out by filling in the gaps between the beginning and end of the Skywalker saga, focusing on years that were previously passed over. As Star Wars continues to expand the brand with many more shows and movies, the adeptly synchronized timeline, where fans could easily watch the entire universe in a comprehensive order, might soon go out the window.

Star Wars chronology (and how The Book of Boba Fett fits in)

Currently, this is how the Star Wars chronology roughly lines up:

• The Phantom Menace
• Attack of the Clones
• The Clone Wars
• Revenge of the Sith
• The Bad Batch
• Solo
• Rebels
• Rogue One
• A New Hope
• The Empire Strikes Back
• Return of the Jedi
• The Book of Boba Fett (Bacta tank)
• The Mandalorian
• The Book of Boba Fett (present day)
• Resistance (season 1)
• The Force Awakens
• The Last Jedi
• Resistance (season 2)
• The Rise of Skywalker

The Book of Boba Fett releases new episodes on Disney Plus every Wednesday.

What do you think of The Book of Boba Fett so far? Do you like its dual storyline format? Let us know in the comments below.