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Hey all -
I recently watched Book of Boba Fett, and actually liked it quite a bit, but found the whole thing very structurally odd. First and foremost, having some of the most important character beats in the ongoing Mandalorian story (namely Mando and Grogu’s reunion) happen in this ‘spin-off,’ but with those characters only appearing in the last 3 episodes, is weird - both for Mando himself, and in stealing the thunder from Boba and his ongoing story. And on the Boba side of things, I found the flashback structure really diluted both halves of the story in the first 4 episodes - we’re only in the present for brief periods, which can make the plotting to diffuse, and the bulk of the flashbacks felt like they’d be better served collected in their own episodes.
I haven’t done a big Star Wars fan-edit before, but decided to take a crack at it here - basically taking the 7 Book of Boba Fett episodes and turning them into a ‘Season 3’ (or Season 2.5, whichever you prefer) of The Mandalorian. Everything was restructured into 9 episodes, where we start on The Mandalorian, and disperse his story out through the season a little more evenly. The bulk of Boba’s flashbacks with the Tusken Raiders are now delivered in a single episode, and his present-day stuff is collected into their own episodes too. The finale is unchanged, but since that episode pulls all the threads and characters together, I think it plays better in this version because those threads have been dispersed through the season more evenly. This cut also has the benefit of providing shorter episodes - something Book of Boba Fett was in desperate need of, with most episodes running longer than your average Mandalorian eps. In this cut, only 2 episodes run past the 50 minute mark, and everything else is between 20 and 35 minutes. I think that plays better, and the greater concentration of subject matter in each episode helps too.
Full list of major changes is below, along with the new episode titles for this revised cut. I’ll say upfront I didn’t go in and cut individual scenes or lines to try reshaping the writing, as some fan edits do - this was strictly a ‘restructuring’ effort. Only one scene was cut, and that for continuity/redundancy reasons. So it’s largely the same material, just presented differently. I started making this for some friends who skipped this show thinking it was a largely unrelated spin-off - this is a way to present this material as a Mandalorian season (albeit with a lot of Boba Fett!), that I think would make initially uninterested viewers more engaged.
Every episode has new opening titles using The Mandalorian logo, with episode titles/chapter numbers following from the end of Season 2. End credits are newly created as well; I got clean screencaps of all the credits art, and redistributed them according to where they now fit in each episode, overlaying a credits sequence in the style of The Mandalorian (but credit information is accurate to Book of Boba Fett). Mandalorian theme has been restored to opening/ending titles on the more Mando-centric episodes.
Otherwise, here’s how individual episodes play out now:
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The Way
–First half of episode 5
–Mandalorian theme inserted over opening title, replacing Boba Fett theme – comes in earlier to underscore Mando leaving the scene of the hit
–Mandalorian theme also used for closing credits, from track “The Baby” from Season 1, which now re-scores Mando on the ship looking at the armor made for Grogu, which ends the episode -
The Daimyo
–Present-day material from Episodes 1 and 2, along with about half that material from episode 3, plus the end of Mandalorian episode 208 edited as teaser
–Some brief moments cut to smooth transitions, nothing major.
–Several wipes added to transition between scenes that didn’t previously juxtapose
–Ends where opening credit of Episode 3 previously played, with full Boba Fett theme from original Episode 1 used under the end credits -
The Starfighter
–Second half of episode 5, minus the last 2 minutes
–Opening title inserted when Amy Sedaris invites Mando to help her with the ship, using the Mandalorian theme.
–Ending created when Mando engages hyperdrive; short exchange between the New Republic pilots omitted as a result. Music from Mandalorian Episode 105 opening used to create this ending, with Mandalorian theme played under credits -
The Pilgrim
–Boba Fett Flashbacks from episodes 1 and 2 edited together
–Opening of episode 1 shortened to get us into Boba-in-the-tank faster, since this is no longer the first episode -
The Syndicate
–Remaining present-day footage from episodes 3 and 4, along with the desert flashback from episode 3, which opens the episode
–New opening title sequence created when Krrsantan screams in the underground cell, using Boba Fett theme
–Sequence from Episode 4 where Boba wakes up in the tank and is fully healed was removed, as it is mostly restating exposition from prior episodes (since, in episode 4, we don’t return to present day for 30 minutes). This is unnecessary and redundant in this cut. Instead, transition from original Episode 3 ending into Boba and Fennec visiting the tavern in Mos Espa. Original ending sequence continues from there. -
The Choice
–All the episode 6 material with Mando, Grogu, and Luke, along with the end of Episode 5 used as the opening
–New opening created out of last scene of Episode 5, with new title sequence using Mandalorian theme
–Original ending used, but with Mandalorian theme replacing Boba Fett theme over the revised end credits -
The Tribe
–Episode 4 flashback (Boba/Fennec origin story) presented on its own
–Boba Fett theme from episode 5 used to create ending – otherwise, no changes made beyond replacement of opening/ending credits -
The Spice
–Remaining material from Episode 6 (on Tatooine)
–Boba Fett theme from episode 5 used for ending – otherwise, no major changes made to existing footage beyond replacement of credits -
The Book of Boba Fett
–Episode 7 in its entirety, with only changes to title sequence and end credits to match rest of season
Let me know if you’re interested and I can send a link to files, provided they won’t be shared elsewhere. Work was done in 4K (3840 x 2160) from 10-bit files in the same resolution, and mastered out in 10-bit 3840x2160 HEVC .m4v files. The total season is about 25gb in size.
