As a fan of both Star Wars and Timothy Olyphant, I was among many who went head over heels upon witnessing the arrival of the actor’s beskar-wearing Cobb Vanth in The Mandalorian’s Season 2 premiere. His presence there was far too limited for my tastes, and his return for The Book of Boba Fett didn’t exactly end on the brightest of notes for him. But assuming all goes well for the character’s return to health, could audiences see Olyphant return to a galaxy far, far away in the mega-crossover movie that franchise great Dave Filoni is putting together?
Now currently back in the metaphorical saddle as Justified: City Primeval’s Raylan Givens, Timothy Olyphant certainly knows how it feels to have one of his characters brought back through popular and creative demand. And while he understandably couldn’t speak directly to the idea of reteaming with Filoni — lest Disney execs stick him in a bacta tank beneath Cinderella’s castle — he did make it sound like he’d readily agree to return to the role if that chance came his way. Here’s how he put it during an interview with The Playlist’s Bingeworthy podcast, speaking to the idea of how popular his character became despite having such a minimal presense:
If I had [talks with Filoni], I wouldn't tell you. . . . Honestly, I can tell you that I've been very, very lucky with those guys. I've only done two episodes and to have only done those two episodes and feel like you're part of a world and they created such a memorable character. I mean, you know, I'm getting away with something here. I did two episodes and I've got like four toys out there. It's ridiculous, and I know it because all of a sudden there's people at the airport with toys. That's new.
Though he's been part of awesome franchises and projects like Scream, Deadwood, Santa Clarita Diet and more, Olyphant's characters sadly aren't the kind that toy manufacturers are champing at the bit to bring to retailers. (Justified could have had its own southern-fried universe of action figures and playsets.) But after just one appearance in The Mandalorian, Cobb Vanth toys were set in stone, and his return for The Book of Boba Fett only increased the desire for more. And consumerism math dictates that another return for Dave Filoni's upcoming movie would rocket that interest into the stratosphere of whatever planet he happens to be on at the time. (Especially if Pedro Pascal's Din Djarin is also in the mix.)
But a project's massive toy potential technically has no bearing on how enjoyable it might be to actually bring the project together. Thankfully, Olyphant continued by saying just how much of a blast he had, and said Filoni and others are well aware of his interest in Cobb-knobbing with them again. In his words:
But, it was a ball working on those things and those guys know if they call me I'd show up. I don't care if it's a big giant thing or just to show up for an afternoon. It's a fun gig.
So color me confidently optimistic about seeing Cobb Vanth again, this time on the big screen. That is, unless he returns earlier, perhaps through Rosario Dawson's Ahsoka, in a way that takes him out of the running for the film. But if that happens, we riot.
Ahsoka is set to debut on Wednesday, August 23, for anyone with a Disney+ subscription, and there are more upcoming Star Wars projects on the way to keep us busy until we get more info about Dave Filoni's feature.
