NICK DE SEMLYEN EDITOR

BOBA FETT IS one of the very few movie characters to have inspired a pasta dish. Namely, ‘Boba Fettuccine’, a hearty heap of carbohydrates that was created by a fan and features red peppers, cream and a small mountain of shredded Romano cheese. Word is, unlike anything that falls into a Sarlacc pit, it takes less than a millennium to digest. Though probably not much less.

Such is the lasting power of a minor Star Wars

character who became a phenomenon. In 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back, bounty hunter Fett stood near a large metal ant in a Usual Suspects-style line-up of intergalactic perps-for-hire. Four decades on, while the large metal ant is yet to get a Disney+ show (we predict it’ll land in 2028), Boba is about to blast his iron-shaped spaceship into the big leagues with his very own series. It’s the start not just of a new chapter for a legendary anti-hero, but for Star Wars as a whole. As our Ben Travis found out when he spoke to the minds behind The Book Of Boba Fett. Turn to page 50 for the whole story — a bounty if ever there were one.

This month we are looking forward: we talk to Steven Spielberg about his spin on West Side Story,

Paul Thomas Anderson about California drama Licorice Pizza, and Michael Bay about blowing up ambulances in Ambulance. But we’re also taking a beat to look back, at all the mad magic of 2021. Our huge review of the year, beginning on page 73, is a reminder of just how good we’ve had it over the past 11 months. Even if I’m still recovering from a certain scene involving a suitcase.

Enjoy the issue.