Ren before Kylo

Book of Boba Fett could fix 2 missed Star Wars opportunities

Boba may be fighting a familiar foe.

Star Wars is full of missed opportunities. With the galaxy far, far away sprawling out in every direction, it makes sense that certain characters, storylines, and settings are somewhat underdeveloped within feature films that have specific stories to tell.

But that only means that other works in the Star Wars universe — books, comics, television shows, etc. — can expand upon the feature films and flesh out all that they failed to explore, from following supporting characters as they take center stage to clarifying the most confusing details of timelines the films have already moved away from.

With upcoming series The Book of Boba Fett cementing that the Star Wars franchise’s future lies in television, one fan theory suggests a previously forgotten plot element developed in the comics will soon make the jump to streaming.

Qi’ra assembles a crew including Ren, as seen in War of the Bounty Hunters #5, published in October 2021.

Marvel Comics

War of the Bounty Hunters, a recent Star Wars comic book series, brought back a number of fan-favorite elements. Comic book darling Doctor Aphra was featured alongside Boba Fett, and even Solo character Qi’ra made an appearance alongside Crimson Dawn, the criminal syndicate she was linked to by that film’s end.

The crossover comics event picked up after Han Solo had been frozen in carbonite, with Boba Fett sparring with other characters control of the resultant slab. Among the familiar faces appearing in the series was Ren, the leader of the Knights of Ren, as featured in The Rise of Skywalker and comic book series The Rise of Kylo Ren. In War of the Bounty Hunters, Ren is one of the many villains assembled by Qi’ra as part of Crimson Dawn’s agenda.

Crimson Dawn, and Ren specifically, could make a resurgence in Book of Boba Fett, according to Redditor Spixene. Both Crimson Dawn and the Knights of Ren weren’t truly well-developed in their respective movies, so The Book of Boba Fett could combine the two and flesh them out in live-action instead of leaning on the less visible medium of Star Wars comics.

That said, The Book of Boba Fett is set about a decade after the events of War of the Bounty Hunters. Ren doesn’t canonically die until decades later, at the hands of Kylo Ren. If he appears in The Book of Boba Fett, his survival won’t be in question, which could be one reason the series opts not to use him.

Kylo slays Ren in The Rise of Kylo Ren #4.

Marvel Comics

But reintroducing Ren would kill two birds with one stone — giving Crimson Dawn and the Knights of Ren their due on screen while giving The Book of Boba Fett a villain worthy of the hero. He’s faced off against Han Solo and Moff Gideon, so the measly Tatooine crime network left behind by Jabba the Hutt would be no obstacle for Ren.

With only a little more than a month until the premiere of The Book of Boba Fett, it’s anyone’s guess which forgotten characters will appear. Even if we don’t get a Qi’ra and Crimson Dawn cameo, maybe the masked visage of Ren will still make an appearance.

The Book of Boba Fett premieres on Disney+ December 29, 2021.

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