1. Boba Fett actually originated out of the initial design concepts for Darth Vader. The Sith Lord was originally conceived as a rogue bounty hunter but during the early production process, whilst George Lucas was making many adjustments to multiple characters, Vader became less a mercenary and more of a dark knight. He still liked the idea of a bounty hunter though, so developed Boba Fett to be "an equally villainous" but "less conspicuous" character.
2. In early development Boba Fett's armour was going to be all-white, a look that was eventually copied across to the stormtroopers as well. When, in 1978, it came to actually realise the character for Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, the white look initially remained...
...But it wasn't long after this that the bounty hunter was given a subdued colour palette, in part to place him visually between the white-armored "rank-and-file" Imperial stormtroopers and the black-cloaked Darth Vader, and also to convey the "gray morality" of his character.
3. Captain America: The First Avenger director Joe Johnston is credited as designing Boba Fett's look, although legendary concept artist Ralph McQuarrie heavily influenced the design, having drawn all the original sketches. Further changes were made to Fett's armour so that it was no longer new and polished, but instead appeared as if it had been scavenged from multiple sources.
4. Although George Lucas inserted Boba Fett into the 1997 Special Edition version of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (Fett briefly appearing outside the Millennium Falcon with Jabba, as well as several other added and altered scenes), the bounty hunter actually made his in-public debut on September 20th, 1978, at the San Anselmo, California, Country Fair parade...
...The man in the Fett suit was Duwayne Dunham, who also wore the suit for the screen-testing video above.
5. Boba Fett made his first on-screen appearance in the now legendary November 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special, starring in the animated segment...
6. In a clever bit of marketing for the upcoming Empire Strikes Back, almost immediately after the Thanksgiving special aired costumed Fett characters started appearing in shopping malls and special events, and "Wanted" posters of the character were put up across the country. Fett-mania was rife, so much so that in 1979, as part of a hugely popular mail-in offer, Boba Fett got his own action-figure before actually appearing in a Star Wars movie!
7. The action-figure was originally going to feature a rocket launcher...
...but it was quickly redesigned over safety concerns. In the place of the "Rocket Firing Back Pack" image was now a sticker describing Boba Fett...
- A Fearsome interplanetary bounty hunter.
- A threat to the Rebal Alliance, especially Han Solo!
- A New Character in Star Wars sequel.
9. Jeremy Bulloch was the man who originally wore the Boba Fett helmet, with John Morton acting as his body double and Jason Wingreen providing the oringinal voice (which was later overdubbed for the 2004 Special Edition release). Although Bullock had minimal screen time and Fett did very little in Empire it didn't diminish the character's popularity one bit. Seemingly oblivious to this George Lucas later revealed that had he known Fett would be so popular, when it came to Return of the Jedi, he would have made Boba Fett's death "more exciting"...
...Although I understand his comment, for me the scene where the carbonite blinded Han Solo accidentally ignits Fett's rocket pack, sending the bounty hunter falling into the Sarlacc's mouth, is one of my favourite moments in the film.
George Lucas also revealed he did considered adding a shot of Fett escaping from the Sarlacc pit, but decided against it feeling it would have detracted from the story's focus. This certainly didn't stop the idea gaining traction across fandom and the many novels that were released in the wake of the Original Trilogy. Even if George wasn't so sure, everyone knew Fett would be back!
10. And indeed he did come back. Although at first in an origin style way. But what we saw on screen in Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones was almost very different indeed as, during the development process of the Prequel Trilogy, George Lucas considered depicting Darth Vader and Boba Fett as brothers!...
...Fortunately the bearded one discounted the idea as too "hokey" and instead we saw Boba inspired to don the armour after his father Jango Fett is decapitated by Jedi Master Mace Windu in open combat.
In that film, Jango was played by Temuera Morrison, and now he's returned to the live-action Star Wars universe to play Boba Fett in The Mandalorian, complete with some nasty scars from his time spent in that Sarlaac pit...
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