Cobb Vanth in 'Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett'?

"I don't want your armor. I want my armor that you got from Cobb Vanth back on Tatooine. It belongs to me." — Boba Fett to Din Djarin (The Mandalorian)

I've been thinking about this upcoming Fett series (which I am so excited for) and it strikes me that this series could actually give us more Cobb Vanth, and not necessarily Star Wars: Rangers of the New Republic as some sources have speculated.

Olyphant's previous law man characters have gone up against powerful, established criminal malefactors and I feel Vanth and Fett could have the same dynamic as Bullock and Swearengen in Deadwood or Givens and Crowder in Justified.While the series would likely be from Boba's POV, in that the narrative will be biased towards him and moralising him as the show's 'hero', I feel Vanth will likely be his moral counterweight. This wouldn't necessarily be the sort of antagonistic relationship that preciptates bloodshed, but rather a sustained 'stand-off' type scenario whereby Vanth is the counter-balance to Fett - again think Deadwood or Justified.

The Aftermath trilogy set up Vanth as this kinda spooky, hard boiled avenging lawman. A former slave who essentially becomes a hybrid of Batman, Mad Max and Gunsmoke's Marshal Matt Dillon - who is Tatooine's de facto protector and liberator in a post-Empire, post-slavery, post-Hutt period. While 'Chapter Nine: The Marshal' toned that 'hard boiled' down somewhat (Hell, you can't have a heroic character carving messages into someone's face in a family friendly show) this show could re-orientate Vanth's characterisation and bring in more elements from Wendig's novels in an attempt to expand his character in live action media.

The Mandalorian itself has left unanswered questions as to why Fett allowed Vanth to keep the armor. My opinion, which I've seen held by others, is that Fett - in his fallen state - felt unworthy to bear his father's armor and respected the fact that Vanth was using it for honorable ends as a law man. This could imply a pre-existing relationship between these two characters that we have not yet seen on screen, Boba's name check of Vanth could certainly support that. I certainly don't believe the events of this series were intended to set Fett and Vanth on the road to a Fett-Kast type show down.

What are your thought's on this? Would Vanth provide an effective foil for Boba in this series? Do you think they'll have a more violently antagonistic relationship? Or do you think Vanth will appear in other series besides this one?

HunterOfTheWeb064 wrote:

Yea I think Boba respects the way Vanth used his armor, and I personally like Cobb Vanth a whole lot, I think Timothy Olyphant did a great job portraying the character.
I want to expand on what you said about a Fett-Kast showdown however, as I think Jodo Kast making some sort of appearance isn't entirely out of the realm of possibility. I think we could see Boba's armor getting stolen from him again, though what circumstances around how that would happen I am not sure. I do know though that seeing Jodo Kast on the screen would be pretty cool, and I'm personally rooting for Twin Engines of Destruction to be adapted on the screen.

Oh I have absolutely no issue with Kast making a canon appearance, none whatsoever. My issue would be Vanth being cast as that character, however, rather than having his own trajectory. Vanth - in his appearances in the Aftermath trilogy and The Mandalorian - is a character with huge potential. He is the first "lawman" character that has appeared thats based on the Western archetype. Vanth could easily star in his own show, not to mention feature in a variety of other media projects besides. Shoe-horning him into the role of Fett impersonator when Kast himself could easily play that role would be a mistake.

I think Fett didn't know where his armor was, until he noticed it being worn by Cobb Vanth while he was tracking Din Djarin.  After that, he shifted priorities, making getting his armor back the number one priority.