Updated 23 October 2007.
NEW! Doesn't Quite Fit
Lucas reconsidered going back and glamorizing the death of bounty hunter Boba Fett, a secondary character who became a cult favorite. He considered "having Boba Fett survive and crawl out of the" mouth of the sand creature in Jedi. "But that doesn't quite fit in the end."
Source: USA Today, 9/04, interview with Mike Snider
NEW! That Extra Shot in where He Climbs Out
"In the case of Boba Fett's death, had I known he was gonna turn into such a popular character, I probably would've made it a little bit more exciting. Boba Fett was just another one of the minions, another one of the bounty hunters and badguys. But, he became such a favorite of everybody's that, for having such a small part, uh he had a very large presence. And now that his history has been told in the first trilogy, y'know, it makes it even more of a misstep that we wouldn't make more out of the event of his defeat, because most people don't believe he died anyway. I'd contemplated putting in that extra shot in where he climbs out of the hole, but y'know I figure that's . . . it doesn't quite fit, in the end."
Source: Return of the Jedi DVD Commentary, 33:01, 9/04
Boba Fett is Dead
"I don't know why. [Laughs]. I'm mystified by it. He's a mysterious character. He's a provocative character. He seems like an all powerful character, except he gets killed. Although he's gotten killed, the people who write the books, and everything, and the comics say 'we can't kill him, we gotta bring him back, we can't let him die!'"
Source: MTV re: Boba Fett's popularity
Remember to Tell Them
"Already developing the story for Episode II ("remember to tell them that Boba Fett is in it," he says), Lucas at this point tentatively plans to have that film finished by 2002."
Source: starwars.com
Editing
"When you're editing, you're dealing with the reality of the film. And cinematically, things are very different than the way you originally had them on page. Words and images are two different things because cinema really involves movement and sound and they're a lot of elements that you can't express on paper because you're dealing with two different mediums. It's not the same grammar. For example, on the barge there's a sequence where Boba Fett gets knocked over, and we didn't really have the right shot to make the sequence work, so I reversed one shot of Boba Fett falling down and made it look like he was getting up."
Source: Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays (p. 257)
Boba vs. Lando
Originally George Lucas envisioned a fight between Boba Fett and Lando but eventually suggested instead that the power pack on Bobas back should be hit and thrown around, as if he had "a balloon on his back that got air out of it."
Source: Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays (p. 259)
Obsessed?
Star Wars producer Rick McCallum has confirmed that bounty hunter extraordinare Boba Fett will return in the third prequel of the massively popular sci-fi saga. Talking to the New York Post ahead of the release of Episode II: Attack Of The Clones, McCallum promised that the audience will get to understand why Fett sides with the evil Empire in later life. "You'll get to understand the relentlessness that Boba has, here, and especially in Episode III, you'll understand why he's so obsessed with destroying any part of the Skywalker family," McCallum promised.
Source: New York Post (May 2002)
NEW! Wasn't Considered Major
"As many fans know, when it comes to Star Wars knowledge, there are degrees of "canon." The only true canon are the films themselves. For years, Lucas Books has stayed clear of characters, events, or the timeframe that George might want to deal with in the Star Wars prequels. While such things as the Clone Wars, the fall of the Jedi, and Palpatine's rise to power were on that list, Boba Fett wasn't considered to be of major concern. But like any great storyteller, George starts to develop a script and it sometimes takes on a life of its own, with characters coming to life and demanding a say. He has told us that Boba Fett will have a role in Episode II--just as Fett first appeared in the second film of the classic trilogy--so we may finally learn the bounty hunter's true genesis. As for whether Fett really survived his descent into the cavernous maw of the Sarlacc in Return of the Jedi...what do you think?"
Source: "Are we going to get more details about Boba Fett's past?" StarWars.com, 4/00
For Popularity?
Boba Fett is such a popular character. Did George decide to put him into Episode II because of that? "No, George would never do it for popular reasons. There's a real story point for Boba Fett and that's why he's going to appear in the second film."
Source: Star Wars Insider #39
Episode III
Fan #18: This is for Rick McCallum. I wanted to know if youre going to go into the backstory of the Fett family anymore?
RC: Yes. Yes we do, not to a large degree, but you will see a connection. That was obtuse wasnt it?
Source: Star Wars Hyperspace Chat with Hayden Christensen, Steve Sansweet, and Rick McCallum (2004)
Definitely In Episode II
"He (Boba Fett) is definitely going to play a part in Episode 2. There's not much else I can tell you about Episode 2, since George will not sit down to start writing it until this summer."
Source: Star Wars Insider #39
Promise
"George has promised me he will be there, that's all I can say for the moment."
Source: TalkCity Chat re: fans asking about Boba Fett in Episode 2
NEW! Dead...
Q: Did George Lucas intend for Boba Fett to die in the sarlacc, despite what others may say or print? / A: "Yes, in George's view -- as far as the films go -- the baddest bounty hunter in the Galaxy met his match in the Great Pit of Carkoon where --unfortunately for Mr. Fett -- the ghastly sarlacc made its home. However, Lucas also approved Fett's comeback in the expanded universe. And of course, by going back in time with the prequels, the Star Wars creator has brought Boba Fett back to life himself, albeit at a much younger age."
Source: "Does Lucas Consider Boba Dead?", StarWars.com, 12/02
Radar Dish
"Joe Johnston showed me some of the ideas he had for Boba Fett, and I remember asking myself what his spaceship would look like. I remember seeing a radar dish and stopping to sketch it very quickly to see if I could get something out of it. The original design I had was round, but when you looked at it from the side, it became elliptical. For some reason, when I drew it, George thought it was elliptical, so thats what it became. When we were building the ship at ILM, somebody looked at street lamps and pointed out that they look like Bobas ship. So everyone began to think that was where I got the idea for the design."
Source: Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays (p. 212)
Super Troopers
"I designed the final version of Boba Fett. Ralph and I both worked together on preliminary designs, and we traded ideas back and forth. Originally, Boba Fett was part of a force we called Super Troopers, and they were these really high-tech fighting units, and they all looked alike. That eventually evolved into a single bounty hunter. I painted Bobas outfit and tried to make it look like it was made of different pieces of armor. It was a symmetrical design, but I painted it in such a way that it looked like he had scavenged parts and had done some personalizing of his costume; he had little trophies hanging from his belt, and he had little braids of hair, almost like a collection of scalps."
Source: Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays (p. 184-185)
"He's enigmatic. He also looks like he's been through a war... He has the look of a survivor."
Source: Star Wars Insider #42, 1998
One character that fans are very eager to see return in the next film is Boba Fett. Have you designed Fett's new look yet?
Yes. Most of the character designs and costumes have evolved from Doug's group, and the concept group, but we're already moving into looking at Boba Fett's ship and slight derivations of that, as well as Fett's apartment, and other environments that Fett exists in. It's very interesting going back to a character that is such a favorite. I think people will know a lot more about Boba Fett after this film.
Source: Star Wars Insider #49, May/June 2000
Most Enduring
"Although he had such a short life in the movies, Boba Fett is one of the most enduring Star Wars characters. He's mysterious; he has all these neat weapons--why'd he have to die so quickly? It just wasn't fair!"
SOURCE: Secrets of Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire re: involvement in Shadows video game
Blue-Collar Spin for Fanboys
"From the beginning, we thought of Jango as a "blue-collar" galactic badass. He's the guy that does the dirty work and makes his living the hard way. He's not necessarily evil, but he's not a "nice" guy either. He's a mercenary who hunts people for money, dead or alive. This is not a heroic trait, but as our protagonist, he must serve the role of hero. Every hero (or anti-hero) needs a difficult quest to test his mettle, so we came up with one for him. We also wanted to show Jango more or less "slumming" at the start, just getting by from job to job, like it's a hard living out there for a bounty hunter, even for the best. The "BIG JOB" has still eluded him.
"Lucas Licensing gave us great degree of freedom in further developing Jango's character and backstory. Early on, I submitted a list of 10 yes-or-no questions to Lucas Licensing, which only George Lucas himself could answer -- and he did. One of the early ideas had Jango on a revenge quest. The word from George Lucas was that Jango shouldn't be driven by revenge, but rather purely by money. A mercenary doesn't need revenge to motivate him. Taking that advice, I went with the story idea that Jango goes after the ultimate bounty, a crazed rogue ex-Jedi.
"I was also very interested in taking many of Boba Fett's now-defunct legends (the origin of the Slave I , history of the Mandalorians -- all that fan-boy stuff) and re-invent them for Jango Fett's own backstory. Lucas Licensing was very agreeable to this approach. What we came up with for the game has and been folded into Star Wars expanded universe canon, and is seen now in comics, novels, and so on."
Source: Gamespy Interview
Favorite
"Jango Fett is my personal favorite. He's an interesting guy. Even though he was a villain in Episode II, he's not necessarily evil. He's a mercenary. He'll work for whoever pays. It just so happens that the bad guys usually pay more. This makes him morally ambiguous, more of an anti-hero than the always do-right Jedi. He doesn't talk much (the coolest tough guys never do), but he's got things on his mind. Why would Jango want the first clone for himself? Why does he want a son? Where did he come from? What the heck is a Mandalore Warrior? What kind of mission might make the fearless Jango Fett think twice about undertaking? This is all interesting stuff."
Source: Nintendojo Interview
Jango vs. Mace
"Well, in the original cut of Episode II, the fight between Jango and Mace Windu lasted a bit longer. But in the interests of keeping the movie going, it was reduced considerably. I think Jango got short-changed in the movie. But Jedi are indeed a formidable opponent, and Mace Windu is one of the most powerful Jedi, so it seems appropriate that Mace would come out on top. But as you saw in the film, Jango, with all his gadgets and quick reflexes, could more than hold his own against Obi-Wan Kenobi, who's no slouch either."
Source: Nintendojo Interview
According to Entertainment Weekly magazine on November 1, 2002, staff writer Thom Geier finds out how stars will dress for Halloween:
"My son's going as Anakin Skywalker, and I'll be Boba Fett."
According to Esquire magazine in August 2004, the musician explains his credit card bill, which included:
"$1,719.15 for a mint condition Boba Fett "Star Wars" action figure on eBay ("I do not collect action figures," he adds)"
In an 2004 interview at About.com about a role involving a jet pack scene (with a stunt double), the interviewer asked, what was your favorite gadget? "Well, it wasn't a gadget, but I was a big fan of the Boba [Fett doll]. I thought that was so funny."
