Who was the last person to have a Dad Bod in Star Wars? Maybe Luke in The Rise of Skywalker? That might not even count since they made him suck in his gut when he was a Force projection in The Last Jedi. Rise of Skywalker Luke felt like he had more of a real Dad Bod, but he was also dead and a ghost, making those of us with a Dad Bod, you know, not feel great about that fact. Han Solo had like a hot guy Dad Bod, but he was murdered by his kid, who you know, has an eight-pack. I think we all felt like hitting the gym pretty hard after seeing Kylo Ren’s eight-pack in The Last Jedi, or, if you’re like me, you just started searching for t-shirts that made you look slightly cooler, despite having a bit of a beer gut. Plus, Kylo was a bad guy, so being that shredded means you’ve turned to the Dark Side, right? And sure, we all love Mando and the great fathering of Baby Yoda (not gonna call it Grogu, sorry), but, it’s not like Pedro Pascal has a Dad Bod. That guy is like Daniel Craig-level fit. The larger point is, the Dad Bods in Star Wars are usually dudes like Uncle Owen, and we know how that turned out. If you have a Dad Bad in Star Wars, the message is clear: Somebody is going to kill you, or you’re going to die on purpose because people with Dad Bods have to make way for the people without Dad Bods. Contrast this with Star Trek, which, you know, introduced Dad Bod Hero 101 with Captain Kirk, and recently doubled-down by bringing back Riker in 2020 in all of his glorious bearded sadness. This is why Boba Fett’s Dad Bod in The Mandalorian is such a revelation. Finally, Star Wars presents a badass with a Dad Bod, and we’re not meant to think this person is a loser, a ghost, or super old. Temuera Morrison’s return to Star Wars after his role as Jango Fett (Boba’s dad) in Attack of the Clones is glorious, partially because he just is allowed to look like himself and rock the body he has. Boba Fett doesn’t need to magically look svelte in order to take out those Stormtroopers. He’s Boba Fett and he’s getting this shit done and dads — with or without fitness regimes — are cheering. Recently, Temura Morrison spoke to the New York Times about the notion of being a “mature man” in Hollywood. “Sometimes you’re in Hollywood, in all the magazines and newspapers,” he said. “And sometimes you end up in the fish and chip shop in New Zealand, where all the old magazines and papers go. You’re old news.” The fact that he’s not old news anymore, and he gets to look like a real mature man, is fantastic. Adventure fiction often lets action heroes look a little flabby. Sean Connery’s Diamonds Are Forever is a good example. But, in 21st Century pop culture, it’s fairly rare to see a Dad Bod in something like Star Wars and have it just simply be. Because he just looks like a normal person, Boba Fett is bringing a bit of realism to a galaxy far, far away. Let’s just hope before the finale of The Mandalorian, he avoids saying “I’m getting too old for this shit. The Mandalorian Season 2 has two new episodes left in 2020. Those air on Friday, December 11 and Friday, December 18, on Disney+.
