The Baddest Bounty Hunter Returns [00:06] Host Krystina Arielle introduces Temuera Morrison to the stage. She notes that fans first met him 20 years ago as the fresh-faced basis for a clone army, but now he has unmasked and taken his rightful place at the top of the Star Wars underworld. She introduces him as the baddest bounty hunter in the galaxy, Boba Fett. [01:06] Morrison walks out to roaring applause. He immediately thanks the crowd on behalf of both himself and his co-star Ming-Na Wen, noting she wanted to be there with him. He thanks the fans from the bottom of his heart for supporting The Book of Boba Fett. [01:30] Morrison jokes that he came the longest way since he traveled from New Zealand. He tells the crowd that if they ever come down to visit New Zealand, they just need to say that Boba Fett sent them and they will be allowed in. [01:55] Morrison takes a moment to express his gratitude to the creators. He thanks George Lucas for making him Jango Fett originally, and then thanks Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni for making him Boba Fett, calling them “very, very clever people.” The Secret Audition in Santa Monica [02:25] Arielle asks how he felt when he first learned he was coming back to play Boba Fett. [02:29] Morrison explains that he got a phone call to have a meeting with Favreau and Filoni. He was staying in Van Nuys at the time and had to drive all the way to Santa Monica. Wanting to be early, he left at 5:00 in the morning to beat the notorious Los Angeles traffic. He jokes that back in New Zealand, they only have two lanes of traffic total. He arrived at 7:00 AM for a 9:30 AM meeting. [02:56] Once he was taken into the meeting room, Morrison saw drawings covering the walls featuring a bald man in robes who looked a bit like him. However, he admits he still didn’t believe it was actually him until Jon Favreau walked in and officially asked him to play Boba Fett. [03:16] Morrison says that because he had so much fun playing Jango Fett back in the year 2000, he wanted to make sure he did an even better job for Boba Fett. He notes that the character was incredibly cool back in The Empire Strikes Back, even though he “actually didn’t do too much.” Morrison then takes a serious moment to pay his respects to Jeremy Bulloch, the original actor who played Boba Fett and established the mysterious nature of the character, who had recently passed away. Boba Fat and the Bacta Tank [04:02] Morrison shifts the conversation to the intense makeup process required to show the scarring Boba Fett sustained after being left out on the sand. He jokes that getting into that makeup was a movie in itself, but fortunately, the show introduced the Bacta tank. He jokes that the tank “gave me my good looks back” and meant he didn’t have to spend as much time in the makeup chair. [04:43] Arielle asks how he approached playing Boba Fett compared to what he did as Jango and the clones years prior. [04:48] Morrison says his initial thought was simply “like father like son,” but he wanted to elevate the physicality. He points out his trainer in the audience and explains they worked hard on the physical side because half of his body was going to be exposed on screen while in the Bacta tank. He jokes that he had to do bench presses, curls, and cut back on his beer intake so his stomach wouldn’t stick out, humorously noting that some fans online were calling him “Boba Fat.” He says his trainer had him doing hundreds of sit-ups to prepare. Like a Bantha! [06:08] Arielle asks what unique, personal spin he thinks he brought to his portrayal of Boba Fett this time around. [06:18] Morrison completely ignores the premise of the question, instead praising director Robert Rodriguez and noting how invincible he felt once he put the armor on. He talks about how the show crescendoed into the finale where he got to come riding in on a Rancor. [06:46] Suddenly, Morrison shouts his now-iconic line from the show “Like a bantha!” to massive cheers. He reveals that the line wasn’t even in the script. He says he made it up on the day of shooting as a joke while telling the other actors how to ride their speeder bikes. He notes that it has become the most popular phrase fans ask him to sign, adding that it takes much less time to write out than some of his other classic quotes. Drifting Away [07:21] Arielle laughs and says she is glad she didn’t even have to ask him to do the line. [07:27] Morrison then derails the interview completely by declaring that he wants to sing a little song for everybody. He asks the crowd to join in on the chorus. He then breaks into a full, passionate rendition of the song “Drift Away” by Dobie Gray. [08:49] As the chorus hits, Morrison successfully gets the entire crowd to sing along with him, belting out, “Give me the beat boys and free my soul, I wanna get lost in your rock and roll and drift away.” [09:20] Instead of returning to his seat, Morrison concludes his chaotic and highly entertaining panel by dropping his microphone and performing the traditional Haka one more time for the roaring crowd. [09:42] Arielle laughs and wraps up the broadcast as Morrison exits the stage.