The Star Wars franchise is home to some of the most iconic imagery, sounds, and characters in all of fiction. Be it the silhouette of a Jedi wielding a lightsaber, John Williams’ sweeping score, or the charming pair of droids C-3PO and R2-D2, most everyone can recognize Star Wars when they see or hear it. It’s the sign of a truly engrossing world where even the smallest detail or background character can be instantly recognizable and fondly remembered. Star Wars especially is known for having elaborate backstories for just about everything seen on camera, and no character better embodies that aspect of Star Wars than the ruthless Mandalorian bounty hunter, Boba Fett. A minor antagonist with only a handful of lines, Boba Fett would go on to become one of the most recognizable and beloved Star Wars characters, despite not actually doing much in the films.
Boba Fett is known by most for his role in The Empire Strikes Back where he is among the bounty hunters recruited by Darth Vader to track down Han Solo. In a memorable scene, Vader confronts the bounty hunter and requests that there be “no disintegrations” in the capture of the rebels. Fett goes on to track the Millennium Falcon to Cloud City where he captures Solo and takes him to the crime lord Jabba. Return of the Jedi picks up with the rescue of Han Solo and Boba Fett is ultimately taken out by Solo who sends him tumbling into the Sarlacc Pit. As far as the movies are concerned, this was the character’s death, but later material would go on to show how the bounty hunter survived.
Despite this, Fett actually debuted two years before in the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special. This bizarre made-for-TV film from 1978 is widely considered to be one of the worst things to come out of the Star Wars brand, despite featuring practically the entire original cast of the first film. It has become notable for two things, bad movie nights and the introduction of Boba Fett during an animated segment of the film. The character was a standout for his striking armor and position as a dangerous bounty hunter serving the empire. These two factors carried over to his live action appearances and audiences immediately latched on to the character. He was a mysterious, dangerous individual who could track the rebels with ease and could be even a little extreme for Darth Vader.
Boba Fett’s popularity didn’t seem to catch on quick enough for George Lucas. At one point, when Star Wars was planned as a twelve movie saga, Boba Fett was to be the antagonist for Episode VI. However, when Lucas opted for his shorter view for six movies, things were condensed and Boba Fett was reduced to a minor role in the final Episode VI, even dying within the first act of the film. Lucas has stated had he known the full extent of Boba’s popularity, he would have had Boba’s death be more of a major spectacle. As it stands in Jedi, Boba Feet goes out on a bit of a whimper. This ultimately became the core debate around Boba Fett as a character. For all his popularity and hype, we the audience don’t actually see him do much of anything in the films. He ends up being knocked into the Sarlacc by a clumsy, blinded Han Solo. Fett was an example of style over substance, and even after the original trilogy concluded, he continued to be an icon of the franchise.
Other authors decided to take Boba’s character into their own hands. Several books, comics, and other forms of media explored Boba’s history and character in more detail. These made up the “Star Wars Expanded Universe” or “EU”. These were stories made to continue the tales of the characters and worlds seen in the films. Many were made with little to no input from George Lucas and often went off in wild new directions. Fett’s popularity grew immensely in the EU, and in many stories he survived his fall into the Sarlacc pit, even going on to become the ruler of the planet Mandalore in some tales. When the time came for the Star Wars prequel trilogy, George Lucas decided to flesh out Boba Fett himself, and introduce his father.
In Attack of the Clones we are introduced to the bounty hunter Jango Fett, played by Temeura Morrison decked out in the same Mandalorian armor. After he is tracked to the planet Kamino, it is revealed that he served as the genetic template for the clone army of the republic, and that he agreed to do so on the condition that he have one unaltered clone given to him to raise as a son, a young boy named Boba. This was an extreme new addition to his character, making him into an exact clone of his father. This was met with some criticism from fans, who felt it was silly and took away from the mysterious nature of the bounty hunter. These concerns only continued when the television series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, featured the prime minister of Mandalore denouncing the Fetts, and claim that they were not true Mandalorians. This upset many fans as it contradicted much of the EU and again took away from some of his “coolness” as it were.
When Disney bought the Star Wars IP, they stripped away the EU, rebranding it as “Star Wars Legends” and left the six films and Clone Wars as the sole canon entities within the Star Wars universe. It was opportunity for a fresh start and while many were disappointed by all the abandoned storylines, many were eager to see what the new, more streamlined continuity would bring. However, aside from a few comic appearances early in the Disney era, Boba Fett remained largely absent. There were plans for a Boba Fett spin off film that eventually fell through and the character remained in limbo for many years, with it unclear if he even survived the Sarlacc in this continuity. It seemed clear that Disney was holding off on using the character. A lot of fan opinion began to shift on Boba, with the pendulum shifting the other way. Many criticized the bounty hunter for not amounting to anything, and being a nothing character that many latched on to simply because he looked cool.
In 2020 however, Boba Fett returned. The first episode of the second season of the Disney+ series The Mandalorian features a marshal on Tatooinee named Cobb Vanth who wears Boba’s iconic armor. It’s unclear how the armor managed to make its way out of the Sarlacc but the episode ends with a scarred and rugged Boba Fett staring out over a cliff and preparing to follow Din Djarin, the titular Mandalorian, to reclaim his armor. Morrison portrays Boba on camera for the first time and returns in the season’s sixth episode where he confronts Djarin. The episode seemed to be a direct response to all the criticism leveled against the character over the years. In the episode alone we are shown that he survived the Sarlacc, that he and his father are indeed Mandalorian despite the lies of the Mandalorian prime minster, and he is shown being the ruthless fighter he was always hyped up to be. Boba is set to feature in the season finale and it seems likely he will continue to play a role in future seasons.
Boba Fett remains an anomaly within Star Wars. A character who started as a minor antagonist has become a defining icon, despite not doing much aside from standing around and looking intimidating. It took several comics, books, and TV series to make him into the fleshed out and action packed character he was always imagined as. It seems that even George Lucas didn’t see much in him from the outset, but Boba Fett’s strange success story proves to be a wonderful example of just how much a piece of media can resonate with someone.
Boba Fett was never supposed to be more than a minor antagonist, but the fans of Star Wars should be credited in part with catapulting him to stardom. People loved the world and characters so much that even the smallest thing could become the subject of fascination. Is Boba Fett a complex character in the original trilogy? Absolutely not, he really did only appeal to people based on looks and sparse dialogue alone. Despite this, we wouldn’t have gotten the more realized character without the fans. That passion is in part responsible for the original EU, and also for giving the Fetts such a prominent role in the prequels. Sometimes it doesn’t take much to resonate with people, and what does resonate with people can become something extraordinary.
What’s more, Boba Fett ultimately shows us that authors and creatives can plan whatever they want for their stories and characters, but ultimately the audience is the most powerful force in determining what its legacy is. Is authorial intent important? Sure. When talking about an entity as big as Star Wars though, the cultural impact is bigger than simply George Lucas’ vision, and that’s oddly beautiful in a way. Media can leave a lasting impact on people. There’s something strangely unifying about everyone acknowledging that this minor antagonist is cool and that we want to learn more about him. Boba Fett is proof that the art we create can have a lasting impact, no matter how small it is, and that’s wonderful.
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