Entertainment Weekly's Josh Trank / Boba Fett News May Be Misleading

Entertainment Weekly ran a sentence today suggesting that Josh Trank was doing the “Boba Fett/bounty hunter” film. But this has never been officially confirmed by Lucasfilm on the record.

Here’s what launched a thousand tweets and dozens of blog posts claiming “confirmation:”

“Among the titles that have been considered is a Boba Fett/bounty hunter movie that director Josh Trank was hired to make before he dropped out following the troubled production of his Fantastic Four reboot. It came so close to being officially announced, Lucasfilm even prepped a teaser reel to show at Star Wars Celebration in spring of 2015, sources tell EW. At the last minute, the split with Trank backburnered the project.”

Let’s take one step back and look at our own Fett Fact Check to see how reliable Entertainment Weekly has been about this subject since 2013:

• February 6, 2013: Entertainment Weekly reported an “exclusive” that one of the “spin-off” films was going to be about Boba Fett film. This has never been confirmed, now over 3 years later.
• August 7, 2015: Entertainment Weekly reported that “sources” say the script is centered on Boba Fett and it’s written by Simon Kinberg. This has never been confirmed.
• December 30, 2015: Entertainment Weekly claimed the Boba Fett film was set for 2020 — with no sources mentioned. This has never been confirmed.

(For more non-EW facts on the still-rumored and never-confirmed Boba Fett story film, see our Fett Fact Check.)

Sounds a little like jumping the gun.

Q: Weren’t two teasers announced and planned for Star Wars Celebration Anaheim in 2015?

Yes. So it’s not new that they were almost going to show one — we’ve known that for over a year. Josh was expected to speak to the ticketed crowd at the convention, and then things shifted course.

Q: What if Entertainment Weekly’s source is correct?

It’s possible. But confirmation to us means confirmation by Lucasfilm.

What has Lucasfilm said on the record about a Boba Fett film?

Nothing. Except that it’s rumored. Here are screenshots we stand by from the official Star Wars page on Facebook from July 7, 2015:

What if Entertainment Weekly is repeating their own article history?

They’re not the first publication to do something like that. The Wrap also does this — repeating their own stories over and over rather.

What’s up with the graphic at the top of this article?

We made it. It’s unofficial.