Caution: spoilers ahead for The Book of Boba Fett episode 6
Cad Bane makes a fearsome entrance in The Book of Boba Fett episode 6, but how old is this grizzled, red-eyed bounty hunter extraordinaire? Inspired by Lee Van Cleef's "Angel Eyes" in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, Dave Filoni devised Cad Bane for Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 1. Hailing from Duro, Cad Bane learned his bounty hunting craft from Jango Fett, and came to be considered the greatest gunslinger in the galaxy after Mace Windu deprived Jango of his head. Working for the Empire, the Hutts, and anyone else who paid him, Bane clashed with the likes of Anakin Skywalker during The Clone Wars, but also mentored a young Boba Fett. In Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Cad Bane duels Fennec Shand and Clone Force 99, failing in his mission to kidnap Omega.
Restricted to animation and comic books until now, Star Wars fans have been eagerly awaiting a live-action Cad Bane appearance for years. That moment finally arrives in The Book of Boba Fett episode 6, "From The Desert Comes A Stranger." Bane has evidently been hired by the Pykes as muscle to protect their spice-running interests across Tatooine, now that the syndicate faces a challenge from Boba Fett, who recently replaced the meek Bib Fortuna as Daimyo of Mos Espa. Bane lets Cobb Vanth and the citizens of Mos Pelgo know in no uncertain terms that they shouldn't take Boba's side in the coming fight.
As a character who now spans all three eras of Star Wars trilogies (and whose student is fairly long-in-the-tooth himself by the time The Book of Boba Fett begins), Cad Bane must surely be getting on in years during the Freetown confrontation. What does Star Wars lore tell us about how old Cad Bane is during The Book of Boba Fett? Based on the scant details we have regarding Bane's backstory, the bounty hunter must be in his early 70s.
We know Cad Bane was born on the planet Duro but, annoyingly, his Star Wars appearances don't give away exactly when. From Pablo Hidalgo's Star Wars: Scum and Villainy: Case Files on the Galaxy's Most Notorious reference book, we can extrapolate Cad Bane was approximately 30-years-old during the events of The Phantom Menace, which makes sense given his status as an apprentice to Jango Fett. The Phantom Menace takes place in 32 BBY (before the Battle of Yavin in A New Hope), whereas The Book of Boba Fett sits five years on from Return of the Jedi, putting Cad Bane's latest Star Wars appearance at 9 ABY (after the Battle of Yavin). That means Cad Bane was 62 when the Star Wars original trilogy began, and is 71 in The Book of Boba Fett, give or take.
Obviously, Cad Bane is looking pretty good considering his advanced years - still able to command bounty hunting jobs from the richest and more influential crime syndicates. This is likely down to his Duro biology, although Star Wars canon hasn't revealed enough about the species to say for certain. Whatever his secret might be, Cad Bane is a weathered, experienced veteran who has lived through two Republics and a Galactic Empire, but isn't showing any of the physical drawbacks that typically come with age. That could be a problem for Boba Fett and his allies.
The Book of Boba Fett concludes Wednesday on Disney+.