Boba Fett

Template:SW Character

Boba Fett is a character from the Star Wars universe. In the films, he is a bounty hunter hired by the Empire and Jabba the Hutt to track down and capture Han Solo and Chewbacca. He appears in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, The Star Wars Holiday Special and in the Special Edition of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.

He is played by Daniel Logan in Attack of the Clones, and by Jeremy Bulloch in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, although Jason Wingreen provided his voice in Empire. His brief appearance in A New Hope was performed by Mark Austin. For the 2004 DVD release of Empire, his voice was replaced by Temuera Morrison.

Appearances

The Star Wars Holiday Special

Boba Fett's first appearance on-screen was in an animated segment aired on television as part of the holiday special in 1978, spawning some interest in the character. Kenner released a Boba Fett action figure not long after the special aired.

Boba Fett is a major character in this animated segment and has more dialogue than he does in all of the Star Wars films combined. He is introduced as a mysterious figure that befriends and aids Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca, C-3PO, and R2-D2; but it is eventually revealed that he is in reality working for Darth Vader and the Empire. Chewbacca is not fooled, claiming, through the aid of C-3PO's translation, that the bounty hunter "didn't smell right." This is of course due to the hydrogen sulfid the bounty hunter was involved in at the time.

The Empire Strikes Back

The Boba Fett action figure was originally made available as a sneak preview of sorts in 1979 for Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.^[1] In The Empire Strikes Back, Fett speaks his first live-action dialogue. Throughout the film, Boba Fett is never once referred to by name. He is, along with several other bounty hunters, asked to track down Han Solo and the crew of the Millennium Falcon. He is the only hunter to deduce how the Falcon eluded the Empire by hiding on the hull of a Star Destroyer. He then requests his ship to be placed in the Star Destroyer's garbage, in order to be hidden in it when the warship jettisons the mass before departing, anticipating that the Falcon will use the waste as cover when it detaches from its hiding place. Fett's hunch is correct, and he tracks the ship and surmises that Han Solo is likely headed for Cloud City on Bespin. He presumably reports the Falcon's destination to the Empire, allowing Vader to arrange a deal with Lando Calrissian to secure the capture of Solo and the crew. Fett stays at Vader's side as the Sith Lord tortures Han Solo in an attempt to draw Luke Skywalker into a trap. In addition to the reward for Solo's capture from the Empire, Vader allows Boba Fett to take Han Solo, frozen in carbonite, back to Jabba to receive an additional reward, claiming two bounties on the same job. In later Expanded Universe material, it is revealed that Fett charged Jabba a larger amount than the original bounty price. He was able to do this by explaining that the frozen Solo was the unique work of art created by Darth Vader.

Return of the Jedi

In Return of the Jedi, Boba Fett is at Jabba's palace when a fellow Bounty Hunter known as Boussh brings in Chewbacca for the reward posted on him. The hunter is actually Princess Leia in disguise, and she frees Solo from his carbonite prison later that night while Jabba's court is asleep. Then two side curtains open to reveal Jabba and his court, including Fett. Early the next morning, Luke Skywalker arrives to bargain for Solo's life. Fett remains on guard and watches silently as Luke battles a rancor. When Luke kills the monster, an outraged Jabba sentences Luke, Han and Chewbacca to be cast into the Pit of Carkoon, where a Sarlacc lives. They are transported to the pit on one of two skiffs, traveling alongside Jabba's personal Sail Barge. Luke stages his own rescue with Lando's help, and Fett attempts to stop them along with several of Jabba's hapless guards. Fett flies across with his jet pack to battle Luke, initially with some success as he entraps Luke using his rope grapple. Gunfire from the barge tips it, knocking Lando off the skiff. Luke jumps from one skiff to the other. Han picks up a discarded vibro-axe to try to fish Lando from the side of the pit. As Boba Fett takes aim at Luke with his wrist blaster, Chewbacca tells Solo that Fett is right behind him. This is the first time Fett's name is mentioned, with Han Solo mentioning it. As he turns to look he accidentally strikes Fett with the vibro-axe and activates the jet pack, which causes Fett to crash into the side of Jabba's sail barge before falling into the waiting maw of the Sarlacc.

Droids

Fett appeared in the fourth episode of the 1985 Star Wars animated series, Star Wars: Droids. In the episode, entitled "A Race to the Finish", Fett is hired by Tig 'tiggy' Fromm to track down the then-masters of C-3PO and R2-D2. Boba fails to capture or kill those targets and satisfies himself with capturing Tig Fromm and his father for their own bounties.

A New Hope

When the special edition of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope was released in 1997, a restored scene with Han Solo confronting Jabba the Hutt was added to the film. Boba Fett is shown standing by Jabba's side in Docking Bay 94 where the Millennium Falcon is temporarily docked. The new footage of Fett was shot with ILM animator Mark Austin in the Fett costume, and was digitally inserted between originally aired scenes from A New Hope. Boba Fett has no dialogue in this scene, but pauses as Jabba and his other bounty hunters leave the hangar. His shoulder armor is reversed in this new scene and the logo which is usually seen on his left shoulder is absent.

Attack of the Clones

Boba Fett's origins are revealed in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. He is revealed to be the "son" of legendary bounty hunter Jango Fett, one of the last of the Mandalorians; more accurately, Boba is a clone of his father. Jango Fett is hired by Count Dooku to be the template for an entire army of clones. Boba is the only unmodified clone and is raised by Jango to learn the Mandalorian ways on the stormy planet Kamino, home of the master cloners.

(The canon books predating Attack of the Clones state that Boba Fett was not a clone. According to these sources, Fett was once known as Jaster Mereel and served as a Journeyman Protector on the planet of Concord Dawn, from which he was ultimately exiled for killing a fellow Protector. After his exile, he adopted the name Boba Fett and decided that he would "bow to no one." These asprcts of his past have been extensively retconned since the release of Attack of the Clones. It was later written that Fett took the name of his father's mentor, Mandalore Jaster Mereel, and became a Journeyman Protector on his father's homeworld of Concord Dawn shortly after the events of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.)

In Attack of the Clones, Obi-Wan Kenobi arrives on Kamino to investigate an assassination linked to Jango, and the Fetts flee to Geonosis to join Count Dooku in the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Kenobi, along with Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala, are to be executed in the Geonosian arena. The young Fett watches with interest, but the ceremonies are interrupted by the arrival of several Jedi led by Mace Windu. In the ensuing battle, Windu beheads Jango. The young Fett buries his father on Geonosis and takes his armor and ship to start his own life as a bounty hunter.

Expanded Universe

The Star Wars Essential Guide to Characters reveals Fett escapes the Sarlaac Pit by propelling himself with his rocket launcher. He is found by fellow bounty hunter Dengar, who befriends him. Fett eventually summons the will to recover and resumes his career. The escape is further explained in the book Tales From Jabba's Palace by Kevin J. Anderson.

Although not his original intent, George Lucas has stated that he has "no problem" with fans and writers having Fett survive, and for the 2004 DVD version of Return of the Jedi he reveals in the commentary that he considered adding a shot where Fett escapes the Sarlacc. Lucas confesses that had he known Boba Fett would become so popular, he would have given him a more spectacular death back in 1983. Lucas explains that he eventually decided against the new shot because at that point in the movie, the main point of focus is the death of Jabba the Hutt, and he felt that the 'resurrection' of Fett would draw away from that.

Young adult Boba Fett series

In a young adult novel series set shortly after Attack of the Clones, Fett seeks out Count Dooku to claim the rest of his father's payment. He spends a short amount of time in the custody of the Sith Lord before venturing on his own to begin his career at an early age, already making modifications to both the Slave I and the Mandalorian armor inherited from his father and his father's mentor, Jaster Mereel.

He meets his future employer, Jabba the Hutt, fights the Separatist supreme commander, General Grievous, and loses, and has several minor bounties under his belt before the age of 13. Fett finds Jabba with a holobook, left to him by his father, with a series of videos explaining what to do and where to go.

Fett is one of the few beings in the galaxy to know the major secret of the Clone Wars: that Count Dooku had built the clone army. His father had told him never to mention this to anyone. Fett eventually reveals the secret, however, during a chase with Aurra Sing on a planet controlled by the Intergalactic Banking Clan.

Young Boba also gets the chance to face his father's killer, Jedi Master Mace Windu. Fett tracks Windu to Chancellor Palpatine's waiting room and engages him in combat. Neither can overwhelm the other, and the fight ends in a stalemate.

The Clone Rebellion

In Star Wars Battlefront II, set in early days of the Empire, the Kaminoan clones are spiked so that they rebel on behest of their Kaminoan masters.^[2] The Empire sends the 501st Legion of Imperial Stormtroopers, led by the young Boba Fett, back to Kamino, with orders to destroy the rogues, acquire biological information on them and capture the cloning technology. After their clones are destroyed, the rogue Kaminoans attempt to escape the planet, only to be shot down and destroyed by the Imperial forces in orbit. Before the battle starts, however, one Kaminoan commander, Kau Wan, safely evacuates a few thousand of his people using Acclamator assault ships left behind by the rogue Kaminoans. Kau Wan and several hundred Kaminoans flee from Kamino, where they start a new life on a distant, uncharted planet. Those Kaminoans who are left behind on Kamino are subjected to Imperial rule, effectively becoming slaves, and forced to make new clones to be integrated into the Imperial Stormtrooper corps. Boba Fett meets Taun We, and before leaving Kamino apologizes and explains himself to his old friend. After the battle is won, it says that Fett "left immediately... said something about a smuggler on Tatooine."

Boba Fett is not after Han Solo as a bounty, however, as shown in Rebel Dawn. Just prior to Solo's meeting with Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Mos Eisley Cantina, Fett gives him a message. Solo's deceased ex-girlfriend, Bria Tharen, made Boba Fett promise that if she died, he would tell her family. Fett passed the message on to Solo, who then sent a holo-message to Tharen's father.

The Last of the Jedi

In the young adult series The Last of the Jedi, Boba Fett, at the age of 14, is hired by Imperial Inquisitor Malorum to investigate details about Padmé Amidala's death at the request of Darth Vader. Fett travels to Polis Massa and Naboo to gather this information. In addition to this investigation, Fett is also commissioned to find and capture the former Jedi Ferus Olin. Ferus, recovering from a leg injury, is being protected by an old friend, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. Fett and Kenobi battle from afar, but Fett doesn't get a good look at Kenobi and can never report to Malorum with any certainty the identity of this powerful Jedi survivor. These events take place a year or two after Revenge of the Sith.

The Marvel Comics series

As revealed in Marvel Comics' Star Wars series, Boba Fett is believed to have served with a group of Supercommandos from the planet Mandalore towards the end of the Clone Wars. According to reports, only three Mandalorians survive: Boba Fett, Tobbi Dala, and Fenn Shysa. However, it is later revealed that this "Boba Fett" is not Boba Fett at all, but a rogue ARC trooper, Alpha-Ø2, nicknamed Spar, who has become obsessed with returning the Mandalorians to their former glory. Spar becomes Mandalore, the traditional title given to the leader of the Mandalorians, and later becomes known as "Mandalore the Resurrector."

Shadows of the Empire

Boba Fett also plays a prominent role in the comic book version and video game version of Shadows of the Empire, and has had several comic book miniseries.

In Shadows of the Empire, Fett is tracked down by Dash Rendar, attempting to stop the bounty hunter from bringing Han Solo to Jabba the Hutt. Rendar confronts Fett at Gall Spaceport, before Fett leaves for Tatooine. Fett bests the mercenary in hand-to-hand combat, as well as operating the weapons belonging to Slave I remotely, and eventually escapes.

Dark Horse Comics

For a brief period, a young man named Jodo Kast poses as Boba Fett by wearing Mandalorian armor similar to Fett's. His motives are clear: gain the reputation of an infamous bounty hunter, and profit from this new profile. Kast's life is cut short, however, by Fett himself. During an attempt to collect a bounty, Kast is ambushed by Fett and his fellow bounty hunter Dengar. A scuffle ensues and Kast collapses, struck by a paralyzing dart. Fett rigs Kast's jet pack to explode and places the antidote for the poison just beyond his reach. Kast is not able to reach the antidote in time and is buried in the rubble from the explosion.

Kast appears in a series of comics titled Bounty Hunters, published by Dark Horse Comics, and the Sony PlayStation game, Star Wars: Masters of Teräs Käsi. Grand Admiral Thrawn, who first appeared in the Timothy Zahn novel Heir to the Empire, disguises himself as Jodo Kast in the story "Side Trip" by Zahn and Michael A. Stackpole in the anthology Tales From The Empire.

Dark Empire comics

Boba Fett plays a prominent role in the miniseries Dark Empire, where it is revealed that he has survived the Sarlacc and continues his hunt for Han Solo. The story of Fett's first escape and recovery (there are three of them) is documented mainly in the Bounty Hunter Wars trilogy and the anthology book Tales From Jabba's Palace. Fett is found lying outside the Sarlacc pit by a fellow bounty hunter named Dengar, whom Fett had previously left to die in the novel Tales of the Bounty Hunters.

Jedi Academy

Fett makes a brief cameo during one of the missions in the video game Jedi Academy. He steals a Rebel weapons cache, and Jedi Knight Jaden Korr is sent to eliminate them. Fett threatens Jaden to leave or die. When Jaden refuses, he/she is forced to run throughout the ruins to destroy the caches while fending off Boba Fett (who is invincible for the duration) and his array of weapons, which include the standard blaster rifle, a high-powered sniper rifle, a flamethrower, and a deadly portable missile launcher. Once the caches are destroyed, Jaden Korr confronts Boba Fett one last time, where the two battle to a standstill. Rather than finish the battle, Fett retreats after a short comment on Korr, "No bounty on you. A shame."

The New Jedi Order

Boba Fett also makes a cameo appearance in the novel The Unifying Force, the conclusion of the New Jedi Order series. He briefly meets Han Solo and later (with the aid of more warriors in Mandalorian armor) aids in a fight against Yuuzhan Vong attackers. Later, he tells Solo (over ship-to-ship communications) that their long-standing feud is not personal, and that his real conflict is with the Jedi.

Legacy of the Force

In Bloodlines, Fett discovers that he is dying, and the only way to stop the process is to discover Kamino's lost knowledge of cloning and age modification. Fett reflects upon his life and the mistakes. He tries to find his daughter, Ailyn Vel, only to discover that she had died at the hands of Han Solo's son, Jacen, and makes amends with Mirta Gev, his granddaughter. After saving his own life, Fett decides to return to Keldabe with Mirta and use his position to restore the Mandalorians to their former power and glory. Once he returns to Keldabe, he calls for all offworld Mandalorians to return to their homeworld, and makes efforts to rebuild the Mandalorian nation, as well as his bond with Mirta. Fortune comes his way when his people stumble upon a huge vein of 'Beskar', a rare Mandalorian ore used to create nearly invulnerable armor. Mandalorian economic and military power, as well as pride, skyrocket and Fett is able to forge an alliance with the Verpines. He also obtains a cure to his condition from an old clone soldier, extending his lifetime by 30 years.

Nevertheless, the biggest shock Fett receives is when he discovers that his ex-wife, Sintas Vel, may in fact still be alive. He is told that her body has been sealed in carbonite under the possession of a long-dead crime lord, and that it can be claimed for just one thousand credits. Fett immediately begins the process of obtaining the carbonite slab.

He is mentioned twice in Fury. The first time, Han Solo receives the beskar crushgaunts and armor, adding to his bewilderment. The second time, Jaina Solo realizes that he is the only person who can possibly give her the edge against her twin brother, Jacen. In the sneak preview of Revelation, Jaina speaks in a first person montage, declaring her intent to find Boba Fett and hire him to train her.

Han Solo Trilogy

In A. C. Crispin's Han Solo Trilogy (released in 1996-1998), Boba Fett's original accepted backstory was released to the public. In this trilogy, as well as in Tales of the Bounty Hunters, "The Last One Standing: The Tale of Boba Fett", it is stated that Fett formerly was a Journeyman Protector named Jaster Mereel. Jaster is exiled from his home planet of Concord Dawn after he kills a man. He adopts the name Boba Fett and becomes a bounty hunter. After Attack of the Clones, this information was retconed as a cover story Fett spread after the Clone Wars even though this origin of Fett is viewed as a memory in the previous mentioned books, a memory that he himself had and told no one of.

Other Expanded Universe appearances

In addition to those mentioned, Boba Fett is a prominent figure in many other Star Wars novels, comics, games, and fan-made films. He is also one of the most sought after toys in the Kenner/Hasbro range of Star Wars figures, especially on his original cardback from 1979.

Star Wars Galaxies

In Star Wars Galaxies Boba Fett appears in Jabba's palace on Tatooine and the Tutorial level in the Mos Eisley Cantina. He can be interacted with, and will supply players with set missions culminating in a trip to the Death Watch Bunker. Boba Fett has also appeared during at least one live event in the game. More missions are available if the player is also a bounty hunter.

Portrayals

Boba Fett has been portrayed by a total of eight actors throughout all the Star Wars productions and video games.

In his first chronological appearance, in Attack of the Clones, he was played by actor Daniel Logan. In the special edition of A New Hope, he is portrayed by ILM creature animator Mark Austin, though he was uncredited for the role. In both The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, Boba Fett is played by Jeremy Bulloch. In the original and special edition versions of both movies, he was voiced by Jason Wingreen.

In the 2004 DVD versions of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi and all subsequent games (such as Star Wars: Empire at War), he was voiced by actor Temuera Morrison, who had portrayed Jango Fett in Attack of the Clones, and the voices of all the clones in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. In Return of the Jedi, however, he only provided Fett's laugh, which was added in to match that made by the younger version of the character in Attack of the Clones; the Wilhelm scream was retained for Fett's fall into the Sarlacc pit. The reason for the controversial decision of replacing Wingreen's voice was that, as a clone of Jango, Boba should sound like him as well.

In the special edition of Return of the Jedi, new shots of Fett were filmed. Both Don Bies and Nelson Hall played him in these shots. Bies had also voiced him in the animated portion of The Star Wars Holiday Special. Canadian actor George Buza voiced Fett in the Droids episode "Race to the Finish".

Tom Kane voiced Boba Fett in the game Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy.