Science-Fiction Weekly – Westworld, The Fate Of Boba Fett

Virtual reality has been touted as the vehicle that will bring us high-level escapism, but in 1973, writer and director Michael Crichton envisioned a more terrifying scenario where advanced robots would be used in different worlds for people dawn a different identity. In his film Westworld, he told a tale of an amusement park designed as an authentically recreated Wild West, a place where people could travel to the past to live out a different life among robot actors so real they could fool the eye. People were encouraged to engage whatever fantasy they saw fit – whether that was settling down with the girl of their dreams on the ranch, or shooting up the town to rob the bank. Everything was allowed, and the world reacted to the scenarios. The one catch; the robot characters could never harm a guest. At the end of each day, no matter what happened, the world would reset, and that day would unfold again, only it would end differently each time, depending on how people altered the script. Crichton, a master of exposing human error, then shows us what happens when the robot A.I. falters.

Crichton's film was a success, giving way to a sequel called Futureworld, and a TV series continuation called Beyond Westworld. Don't worry, I had no idea that any of this stuff existed, either. The reason I'm mentioning it today is because HBO has brought Westworld back as a new ongoing series that reboots the story. The first episode launched this weekend, and it's off to a hell of a start. Equally as fascinating as it is unsettling, this new take on Crichton's story is a powder keg of a mystery that already looks like it's on the brink of exploding. The premiere gives us a good look at the future of our world and the advanced technologies within it, but mostly shows us that mankind hasn't changed at all. The people that come to this Wild West park are the scum of the Earth; so detestable that you feel sympathy for the robot actors. Although we don't want to see the robots malfunction and rise up, we kind of do when you see who they have to deal with.

Through Westworld, HBO has another hit show on its hands. Westworld's debut is the highest viewed new series on HBO since True Detective, watched by more than 3.3 million people. This is one of those shows you won't want to procrastinate on watching, as I have a feeling it will be a heavily discussed topic in social media channels each week it airs. Reminder: The first month of HBO Now is free, and you don't need cable to sign up! Before you venture off to do that, take a look at the trailer below.

I don't have any significant game news to deliver this month, but I will point out that my review for Gears of War 4 hits this Thursday at 12:01 a.m. PT. Whether you are a fan of the series or not, you'll want to check out this assessment of the game. I think people will be surprised by this entry for...well...reasons I can't go into. Gears of War 4 is in the hands of a new creative team, and has been touted as a new saga for this series. Time will tell what that means for Gears fans. I should also point out that the excellent Metroidvania game Axiom Verge is now available on Xbox One. This game was created by just one person (Tom Happ), and is well worth your time if you like those types of gaming experiences. Former Game Informer editor Bryan Vore gave Axiom Verge a 9.25 out of 10, and called it a "stunning love letter to Nintendo’s classic without being a slave to its conventions."

In other news: When Disney nuked Star Wars' Expanded Universe to make room for Star Wars: The Force Awakens and the future it would bring, I never thought about what this shakeup meant for Boba Fett. In Return of the Jedi, we see him plummet into a sarlacc pit, where theatergoers thought he died. Lucasfilm's army of writers had a different take on it. In the Expanded Universe, he crawled out of the sarlacc pit without a scratch on him, and became a popular lead for other Star Wars stories in the years that followed.

In Lucasfilm and Disney's new canon, we haven't heard a peep about Boba Fett. The book Star Wars: Aftermath, doesn't mention him by name, but does provide a hint of what may have happened to him. In this story, a rundown Jawa sandcrawler is uncovered, and its cargo contains the remnants of a sail barge, along with a suit of Mandalorian armor that appears to be partially melted. As we learn in the film, a sarlacc pit digests its food over the span of thousands of years (which makes no sense), but the stomach acid does kill its victims quickly, and it apparently did a number on the armor.

Given the planet, and the two items that were uncovered together, there's no doubt this is Boba Fett's armor. That was clearly meant to be Jabba's sail barge that the Jawa's scavenged. The question that looms large is: Did Boba Fett make it out? This question has become a heated debate in Star Wars circles. Some people say that, since the skeleton isn't in the armor, Boba Fett must of freed himself of it to escape. I think it instead tells us that the Jawas fished out the body and armor, kept the valuable pieces, and tossed poor Fett's corpse to the side. I think he's a goner.

I'd like to hear your thoughts on this subject and Westworld in the comments section below. Next week, I'll have more on Gears of War 4 (the final verdict and video!), and plenty more science-fiction news. Until then, enjoy your week.