The Star Wars universe is back once again, as The Book of Boba Fett has laid claim on the Disney+ viewership. Considered the next chapter in the story that started with The Mandalorian, the series pushes Boba Fett and mercenary Fennec Shand into uncharted waters as they take control of Jabba the Hutt's criminal empire. While Fett is known to be a cunning warrior, ruling in the underworld with respect has thus far proven challenging for the unrespected.
An oddity occurred in "Chapter 1" when The Mayor's majordomo didn't bring tribute to the new crime lord, and suspicions were arroused farther when a group assassins attacked Fett and Shand in the streets of Mos Espa. Shand successfully captured one of the ninjas, but in "Chapter 2" The Mayor claimed ignorance to the attempt on Fett's life before the former bounty hunter sought out answers elsewhere.
Beating drums outside a club drew the attention of everyone in the area, Fett included, and the Son of Jango found himself face to face with Hutt twins. As Lord Fett exchanged pleasantries with the slugs and reaffirmed his claim over Jabba's territory, the bounty hunter Black Krrsantan arrived on the scene to serve as intimidation and remind Boba of the threat posed by Wookie muscle.
The involvement of the Hutts and Krrsantan is just beginning for the series, and many fans wondered how the introductions were accomplished. Fortunately, the stars of the show had fond memories to share of the day the street showdown was filmed.
Morrison and Wen Talk Hutts and Krrsantan
In an interview with TV Line, actors Temuera Morrison and Ming-Na Wen discussed their experience shooting the sequence when the Hutt twins were introduced in The Book of Boba Fett. Jimmy was a notable element of the process:
Morrison: "It was pretty much those two guys, without the voice-over. The voice-over came from my wonderful stand-in, a guy called Jimmy."
Wen: "Oh, Jimmy!"
Morrison: "Remember Jimmy? I had this great stand-in, he could do all the voices while we were acting."
The actors revealed that cardboard cut-outs were used as placeholders for the Hutts:
Morrison: "It was wonderful, they were actually up at that height. And I felt sorry for the extras that were carrying [the dais]. It was hot out there."
Wen: "Of course, at the time they had the cardboard cut-outs of the twins. But we definitely had something to look at.
Also confirmed was that the fearsome Black Krrsantan was performed by someone in the suit:
Wen: "Oh, yes.
Morrison: "Yes, Big Dave, yes. He was scary, that guy. Krrsantan. He looked way cool, didn't he?"
For anyone wondering, Krrsantan won't be getting any lovable nicknames from the crime lord as he may have from Aphra:
Morrison: "Krrsantan. Krrsantan."
Wen: "We give him the respect of his full name. Krrsantan."
A Guy Called Jimmy & Big Dave
"The Tribes of Tatooine" continued the MandoVerse's trend of throwing diehard fans a bone with cool references to the familiar. In addition to the live-action face reveal of the Pykes and an appearance from Luke Skywalker's deleted friends, the return of the Hutts and Krrsantan's jump from the comics were breath-catching moments.
Hutts haven't been seen in live-action since Jabba's brief appearance in The Phantom Menace, though an updated take on the character's CG was done for A New Hope's DVD release in 2004. With Lucasfilm's preferred method being to use practical effects as much as possible, creating puppets with some CG touch-ups for the twins was another option that may have been pursued.
Given that the tons of flesh had to be carried on a dais, it would've been impossible for the extras to haul two heavy puppets for countless taes without violating their 8th Amendment rights prohbiting cruel and unusual punishment. The Hutts will undoubtedly be back, and with cardboard references, Morrison and Wen's acting chops, and Jimmy's clutch voice work, future confrontations will be just as gripping as the first.
Black Krrsantan having an actor in costume wasn't in question, but Morrison was spot on when he called the performer "Big" Dave. Peter Mayhew and Joonas Suotamo both fit perfectly in the Chewbacca suit with their height, but Big Dave has the added muscle that really makes Krrsantan an imposing figure.
The best part? Krrsantan won't be constrained to this one cameo.
Between the actors knowing a comic character's name, discussion of the Wookie being worthy of respect, and production art depicting the hairy beasts in a melee, fans can bet on an action sequence or two for Krrsantan. The Hutt twins may cut him loose on Fett at some point, but the two have a previous working relationship and could join forces at some point.
The Force Awakens had a deleted scene depicting Chewbacca tearing off Unkar Plutt's arm in Maz's Castle. Another nod to Han Solo's iconic line from the original Star Wars film seems exactly like something Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni would include in one of their projects, and with a planet's worth of Wookie-hunting Trandoshans being present on Tatooine, the stars for Krrsantan and a vicious limb removal may align.
New episodes of The Book of Boba Fett stream Wednesdays on Disney+.
