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'The Book of Boba Fett' stars open up about Danny Trejo's surprise cameo, that street gang & more
At the Television Critics Association virtual panel, Ming-Na and Temuera Morrison discuss the already infamous third chapter.
The most recent episode of The Book of Boba Fett, “Chapter 3: The Streets of Mos Espa,” featured everything from Power Rangers-colored cyborg street gang, the Tuskens being wiped out and even the surprise cameo of Danny Trejo as a rancor trainer. So what did Boba and Fennec themselves think of the big twists?
At today’s Disney+ Television Critics Association virtual panel for the series, stars Temuera Morrison (Boba Fett) and Ming Na-Wen shared their reactions to those various plot points. Both actors said they were delighted to have Trejo on set, with Morrison adding that it was a reunion for the two since they first worked with one another in 1998 as pirates trying to kidnap Harrison Ford and Anne Heche in Six Days, Seven Nights.
“I didn’t know [he was cast] until the day he got there for filming,” Morrison shared. “He had such great stories and we had a great time together.” Na-Wen added that, “Danny has the heart of a warrior and the personality of a teddy bear.”
When asked about some of the pushback to how the slain Tuskens were burned in the desert, Morrison said he did initially wonder about having more ceremony to the scene but they were running out of time to shoot as it was. But he did draw on his own indigenous New Zealand Māori background for the moment. “It was about family and their fierce protecting of their lands.”
Na-Wen said the sequence immediately made her think of the scene in A New Hope with the Jawas on Tatooine after they are attacked. “There was a ceremony to burn the bodies instead of leaving them in the desert too.” And she added that she was glad the Tuskens were fleshed out so much in their series. "We knew so little about the Tuskens and it gave them an incredible backstory. Seeing how they worked out the dance moves and the weaponry of the staffs, it enriched who the Tuskens were."
As for the biker gang that Fett enlists for help in the episode, Morrison said that series writer Jon Favreau specifically mentioned they were inspired by George Lucas’ affinity for vehicle modding in the ‘60s, which he specifically celebrated in his classic film, American Graffiti (1973).
“They brought a lot of color and youthfulness,” Morrison said of the actors who played the gang. “Boba was trying to sort things out and get them on our side. It's the idea of it you can’t beat them, maybe join us because we may need more help in the future. Get them on our side. I’m just not sure they were happy with the pay,” the actor laughed.
New episodes of The Book of Boba Fett drop Wednesdays on Disney+.
