The iconic bounty hunter Boba Fett is one of the Star Wars franchise’s most popular characters, with both the canon and Legends continuities depicting different versions of the famous antagonist-turned-anti-hero. The nearly 50-year-old Star Wars franchise had a single continuity for its first 37 years, comprised of the six main saga movies and the various Expanded Universe spin-off materials that were officially canon. 2014 saw the Expanded Universe renamed Legends and discontinued, though it remains an alternate continuity that inspires elements of the modern Star Wars canon. Boba Fett exemplifies this, as his modern canon lore shares many similarities with his original Legends incarnation.
Following his onscreen debut in the Legends-exclusive Star Wars Holiday Special, Boba Fett would go on to appear in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi (which belong to both canon and Legends). Fett was an instant favorite among many viewers, who not only took interest in his distinctive armored suit but also his palpable aura of mystery and cool confidence, even when facing Darth Vader. While Fett’s defeat in Jedi is popularly seen as disappointing, later works, such as Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and various canon and Legends spinoff properties would explore Boba Fett’s history, resulting in two different iterations of the character.
Related
How To Watch Star Wars Movies In Order
Here is how to watch all Star Wars movies and TV shows chronologically and in order of release, and how each fits into the Star Wars timeline.
8 Boba Fett Is No Longer A Mandalorian In Star Wars Canon
The Mandalorian & The Book of Boba Fett
The first forays into Boba Fett’s backstory would be found in The Empire Strikes Back novelization and the classic Marvel Star Wars comics. Legends revealed that Boba Fett is a Mandalorian and a member of Clan Fett. Boba’s service as a Journeyman Protector and later as the Mand’alor would be further explored in later Legends-era materials, such as the Blood Ties comics and the various novels of Karen Traviss. The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, however, would establish that the modern canon’s Boba Fett may use the armor of his father, Jango Fett (a true Mandalorian in both timelines), but he is not a Mandalorian himself.
7 Boba Fett Became A Crime Lord In Star Wars Canon
The Mandalorian & The Book of Boba Fett
In both canon and Legends, Boba Fett escapes the sarlacc and eventually transitions from a ruthless villain to an anti-hero, though how he does this is different between the two continuities. In Legends, an aging Boba Fett retires from his bounty hunter career and succeeds Fenn Shysa as the Mand’alor, tragically after killing Shysa as one of his final jobs as a bounty hunter. In canon, Boba Fett endeavors to replace Bib Fortuna as the leader of the late Jabba the Hutt’s criminal empire, which he does only a few years after Return of the Jedi.
Related
New Star Wars Movies: Every Upcoming Movie & Release Date
Here’s every upcoming Star Wars movie in development – including Rey’s New Jedi Order, the Dawn of the Jedi, and The Mandalorian & Grogu!
6 Star Wars Canon & Legends Differ On How Boba Fett Tried To Kill Mace Windu
Star Wars: The Clone Wars & Boba Fett: Pursuit
Unsurprisingly, both iterations of Boba Fett attempted to avenge Jango Fett by killing Mace Windu, and both attempts were unsuccessful. In the Legends-era novel Boba Fett: Pursuit, by Elizabeth Hand, Boba Fett tried to kill Mace Windu at the end of the Clone Wars, having established himself as an up-and-coming bounty hunter throughout the war. Fett confronts Windu on Coruscant and nearly perishes before Palpatine himself intervenes and ends their fight. In canon’s Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Fett enacts a plot far earlier in the war, assembling a team of bounty hunters and posing as a clone cadet, though his plot is thwarted by Plo Koon and Ahsoka Tano.
5 Boba Fett Was Mentored By Aurra Sing & Bossk In Star Wars Canon
Star Wars: The Clone Wars & Boba Fett: Maze of Deception
As shown in the first three Legends-era Boba Fett novels, by Terry Bisson and Elizabeth Hand, Boba Fett had an adversarial relationship with the bounty hunter Aurra Sing in the original continuity. In later Legends-era works, Fett would have a bitter rivalry with another bounty hunter, Bossk. In canon, Fett was hardly an enemy of either mercenary, with both Aurra Sing and Bossk serving as mentor figures for the young Boba and assisting him in attempting to kill Mace Windu. While Aurra Sing abandoned Fett to evade capture, Bossk remained a close ally of Fett throughout the Clone Wars, though their friendship degraded significantly by the original trilogy era.
Related
How The Clone Wars Changed Boba Fett’s Origin
Boba Fett’s Clone Wars-era adventures were depicted in a Legends-era book series, but Star Wars: The Clone Wars retold his story in canon.
4 Boba Fett Had A Family In Star Wars Legends
Various Star Wars Legends Works
Canon’s Boba Fett has no family members other than his late father and his many clone trooper siblings. In Legends, Fett married the Kiffar bounty hunter Sintas Vel during his career as a Journeyman Protector on Concord Dawn. The two had a daughter, Ailyn Vel, who became a bounty hunter as well, though she loathed her father for abandoning her and her mother when Fett left Concord Dawn to become a bounty hunter again. Ailyn had a daughter, Mirta Gev, with the Mandalorian soldier Makin Marec. Mirta grew up to become both a Mandalorian and a bounty hunter, though she was close with her grandfather, unlike her mother.
3 Star Wars Canon’s Boba Fett Had No Starships Other Than Slave I
The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett & Various Star Wars Legends Works
Boba Fett’s only starship in the modern Star Wars canon is the Slave I, a Firespray-31 pursuit special that previously belonged to Jango Fett, Aurra Sing, and Hondo Ohnaka. In Legends, the Slave I’s history is more extensive and the ship was replaced by the Pursuer-class enforcement ship Slave II in the Dark Empire comic series. The Slave II would be briefly succeeded by vessels known as the Slave III and Slave IV, though Boba Fett would continue to use Slave I as his primary vessel as far into the Legends timeline as the Fate of the Jedi novels.
Related
All 7 Actors Who’ve Played Boba Fett In Star Wars
Boba Fett is one of Star Wars’ most popular characters, and with a history spanning 40 years, 7 actors have helped bring the bounty hunter to life.
2 Boba Fett & Han Solo Became Allies In Star Wars Legends
Legacy of the Force
While Boba Fett and Han Solo have yet to interact after the events of Return of the Jedi in canon, the two remained rivals long after the original trilogy in Legends. As shown in Kevin J Anderson’s short story “The Last One Standing: The Tale of Boba Fett,” Boba Fett and Han Solo finally ended their bitter animosity at the end of a confrontation on Jubilar shortly before Boba Fett retired from bounty hunting. As the Mand’alor, Fett would become an ally of not only Han but also Lando, Chewbacca, Leia, and Luke. Fett would even train Han and Leia’s daughter, the Jedi Jaina Solo, in Mandalorian combat techniques.
1 Boba Fett Lived Up To His Legendary Reputation In Star Wars Legends
Various Star Wars Legends Works
In general, Boba Fett does not live up to his legendary reputation in Star Wars canon. While portrayed as one of the galaxy’s finest bounty hunters, canon’s Fett suffers embarrassing defeats, such as an early encounter with Luke Skywalker and R2-D2 in Marvel’s new Star Wars comics. A veteran Fett is also easily bested by Cad Bane in The Book of Boba Fett initially. In Legends, however, Boba Fett has a plethora of feats that make his status as the galaxy’s best bounty hunter well-earned. Having defeated fugitive Jedi, the impostor Jodo Kast, and defended Mandalore from the Yuuzhan Vong, Boba Fett is truly formidable in Star Wars Legends.
