Boba Fett is back for The Mandalorian season 2, and here's what we know about how he escaped the Sarlacc pit. The fan-favorite Star Wars bounty hunter from the original trilogy has officially returned to Star Wars canon. Boba Fett played a small but important role in the first three Star Wars movies, but he famously - and unceremoniously - died early on Return of the Jedi. Well, at least that's what viewers were led to believe at the time.
Ever since Disney and Lucasfilm relaunched Star Wars in 2015, fans have been wondering when Boba Fett would return. The de-canonized Expanded Universe materials featured Boba's survival and took him on many adventures after. For a time it appeared Boba Fett would be the star of his own movie as part of the A Star Wars Story spinoff initiative. However, that movie never materialized and appeared to look even less likely of happening once The Mandalorian was announced. It was originally speculated that the titular character in the first live-action Star Wars series could be Boba Fett, but we now know that this isn't the case.
The Mandalorian might be Din Djarin's (Pedro Pascal) story, but multiple reports circulated ahead of season 2 that Boba Fett would be included. Temuera Morrison, who played Jango Fett in the prequels, was reportedly set to play the adult version of his clone son. This possibility raised a lot of questions about how Boba Fett's escape from the Sarlacc pit would be explained in canon. There was even some debate over whether or not these reports were legit, but The Mandalorian season 2 premiere made it official. The final shot of the first episode showed Boba Fett alive, scarred, and still on Tatooine. As exciting as it is for many to see the bounty hunter alive, how he survived falling into the Sarlacc's maw remains a significant unanswered question. Here's what is known about the events.
How Boba Fett Escaped The Sarlacc In Star Wars Legends
Boba Fett's survival from his embarrassing apparent death in Return of the Jedi came in the short story A Barve Like That: The Tale of Boba Fett written by J.D. Montgomery. It appeared inside an anthology book titled Tales from Jabba's Palace alongside 19 other short stories, with Montgomery's narrative focused solely on Fett's escape from the Sarlacc pit. But, the story was made non-canon with the rest of the Star Wars EU after Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm.
The short story follows Boba Fett after he wakes up inside the belly of the Sarlacc, which has a stronghold on him with its tentacles. It doesn't help that the beast's digestive system has severely damaged his Mandalorian armor. Boba soon discovers that he has a telepathic connection to past victims of the creature and begins to communicate with them. This leads him to talk to the Sarlacc's first victim, Susejo, who has some level of control over the creature due to this connection. After the Sarlacc makes contact with Boba Fett's jetpack, the ensuing explosion is enough to allow Fett to wrangle himself free. Boba must then use grenades to blow a hole through the side of the Sarlacc so that he could escape.
How Star Wars Canon Has Teased Boba Fett's Sarlacc Escape
Boba Fett's proper return in Star Wars canon has only just happened, but Lucasfilm set up his escape from the Sarlacc pit years ago. During Chuck Wendig's Aftermath trilogy, readers were first introduced to Cobb Vanth (Timothy Olyphant), a former slave who becomes a sheriff of a Tatooine town. The books cleverly insinuated that Vanth wore Boba Fett's armor without directly confirming that it was the same suit. The story featured Vanth acquiring Mandalorian armor from Jawas. In the book's events, it is explained that the explosion of Jabba the Hutt's Sail Barge left the Sarlacc critically injured and exposed. The Jawas took this as an opportunity to mine the creature for potential loot, finding Mandalorian armor during this excursion, which was teased to be Boba Fett's.
Even though the books stop short of explicitly saying Vanth acquires Boba Fett's armor from the Jawas, it's not a difficult leap to make. The Jawas finding just the armor, though, can be taken as a tease that Fett survived. It is already known that the Sarlacc's digestive system takes years to fully process anything, and the likelihood is that it would only consume Boba's body and not the armor is slim. This points to Boba managing to escape the Sarlacc pit and either taking the armor off himself or having it stripped from him by the Jawas. In either case, Boba Fett would be alive.
What The Mandalorian Season 2 Reveals About Boba Fett's Sarlacc Escape
Boba Fett might only be in a few seconds of The Mandalorian season 2 so far, but the first episode still provided plenty of clues for how he escaped and what happened after. It is clear that at some point after his escape that he lost or gave up his armor. While we don't know the root of Boba Fett not having his iconic costume anymore, he has been without it long enough to acquire a new get up. He's in a large cloak and has new weapons holstered on his back. Whatever happened to him that allowed him to escape the Sarlacc, it appears to have changed Boba Fett.
One of these changes to Boba Fett's look in The Mandalorian season 2 might also be a tease of him escaping from the Sarlacc pit. When he turns around after watching Din Djarin ride through Tatooine with his armor on his speeder bike, Bobe Fett sports scars that haven't been seen before. His face hasn't been shown in canon since he was a kid, so there are decades of adventures that could explain the scars. However, Boba Fett's escape from the Sarlacc could be the cause of these particular ones. Boba's helmet is still in the same condition as it was during Return of the Jedi when Vanth has it, but it's possible the fight to escape included momentarily losing the protection and the beast giving him a permanent reminder of the event.
There's also the possibility that The Mandalorian season 2 teased Boba Fett's escape wasn't his own doing. The episode revolves around Din and Vanth trying to kill a Krayt Dragon that is terrorizing Tatooine civilizations. At one point, it is remarked that Krayt Dragons are capable of killing and eating Sarlaccs. This line could set up that the Krayt Dragon killed by Din Djarin might be the same one that gave Boba Fett his life back.
How Did The Jawas Get Boba Fett's Armor?
One piece of the puzzle that still isn't totally clear in The Mandalorian's story is how the Jawas acquired Boba Fett's armor. It's established that they have it by the time they find Cobb Vanth, but the show already changed aspects of Vanth's origin from the Aftermath books. This could mean that the Jawas finding the armor near the Sarlacc pit might not be how the events actually unfolded. It is unlikely that future appearances by Vanth will help fill in this gap since his origin has already been told now, but the return of Boba Fett later in season 2 could be a chance for The Mandalorian to show his side of the events.
Boba Fett's Future Setup In The Mandalorian Season 2
Now that Boba Fett has officially returned to Star Wars, his future with the franchise and The Mandalorian season 2 is worth considering. The brief tease of his presence doesn't do much to set up a specific arc for him moving forward, but it is important to note that he is now aware of Din Djarin and knows he has his armor. This could prove to be quite important for both of them in season 2. Din is trying to find more Mandalorians who could teach him about the Jedi or Baby Yoda's species, and Boba Fett happens to check both of those boxes. He might not be a true Mandalorian, but Boba is knowledgeable about the Jedi and likely knows of Yoda.
It's possible Boba Fett will seek Din Djarin out to inquire about getting his armor back, and any information he can share about the Jedi could be enough to make a deal. That isn't a guarantee, though, as Din is very traditional when it comes to following the Mandalorian creed. Just as he didn't want Cobb Vanth to wear the armor as a non-Mandalorian, Din could have the same feelings about Boba Fett once again suiting up. There's no question that Boba Fett and Din Djarin will come face-to-face at some point in The Mandalorian season 2 after this setup, so it will be fascinating to see when it happens and what transpires.