There are many things to love about the Star Wars universe. This is a created universe, after all, one that is full of all sorts of races, characters, and peoples. It’s complicated and layered, and while most of the major storylines have focused on the battle of good vs evil, there are many other characters that exist in the gray area between those two poles.

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And no characters are more ambiguous than the bounty hunters, who have, in recent years, become very popular in the pop-culture imagination. With that in mind, it’s fun to look at some of the great concept art for these most enigmatic of characters.

A Lonely Hunter

Mandalorian Original Concept Art

There’s something more than a little haunting about a person standing in silhouette against a celestial body, and that’s precisely what makes this piece of concept art so evocative and beautiful.

What’s more, it manages to capture the loneliness that seems to be at the heart of almost every bounty hunter’s existence - the sense that they are fulfilling a destiny that most others can never fully know nor understand - the sense that they're more than just henchmen for the powers that be.

Faded Glory

Most of the bounty hunters that have appeared over the years have been a little rough around the edges, their armor more than a little dented. Nevertheless, there’s something grand about them - the sense that they fulfill a purpose that is greater than what might appear on the outside.

That’s certainly the case with this piece of concept art, which shows a bounty hunter that’s a little shorter than one might expect, but still has that air of menace.

 Positively Chilling

Cad Bane Concept Art

For some reason, bounty hunters always manage to exude a sense of menace, and it’s hard to shake the feeling that these are people who would as soon kill as look at someone.

Even with this in mind, the concept art for this bounty hunter is chilling, made all the more so by the fact that he is clearly not a human. Looking at those eyes, there’s no doubt that this is an individual that will do anything for money.

Ethereal

Aurra Sing Concept Art

While obviously bounty hunters need to be in peak physical condition in order to fulfill their various missions, it’s also true that they come in all shapes and sizes. This piece of concept art, for example, shows a bounty hunter who’s more than a little ethereal, almost as if she isn’t quite on the same plane with the rest of the world.

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However, she also has that sense of coiled menace that is also such a key part of the bounty hunter persona.

Almost Skeletal

Rumi Paramita Concept Art

This piece of concept art takes the idea of skeletal to a whole new level. Looking at this character, one gets the sense that there’s a whole world of experience to her.

While she only appears briefly on screen, she still manages to make quite an impression, in part, because her appearance is just so unsettling. One gets the feeling that she has quite a few stories to tell, if she feels so inclined.

More Robot Than Man

Boba Fett Concept Art

Boba Fett is, of course, the bounty hunter of all bounty hunters, the one that occupies an almost sacred space in the pantheon of Star Wars. After all, he’s the one who managed to capture Han Solo.

There were times, though, when Boba really did some like he was more machine than human, as if everything that had given him a soul had somehow been drained out of him. This piece of concept art manages to capture the way in which he seems more of a robot than a man.

Tattered And Bruised

Star Wars 1313 Boba Fett Concept Art

Part of what makes the bounty hunters such a fascinating group is that so many of them seem to not care much about what they look like. As a result, many of them look as if they are more vagabonds than warriors (hardly a surprise, since they're often part of the criminal underworld).

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At the same time, there’s always something about them that suggests it would be very unwise to cross them. Both of these currents are present in this particular piece of concept art.

That’s Quite A Silhouette

Manalorian Concept Art 2

In some ways, the Mandalorians are rather like the gunslingers of old Westerns. They are the type that might ride into a town to vanquish evil, but they could just as easily be on the side of the bad guys.

The brilliance of this piece of concept art is that it manages to capture the western ethos of the Star Wars universe. Looking at these two figures outlined against the moon, one gets the sense that danger and adventure are in the air.

A Bit Of Polish

Boba Fett Concept Art 2

Whereas most pieces of concept art depicting bounty hunters tend to lean into the beaten up and bruised aspect of bounty hunters, this artist has gone to the other end of the spectrum.

This is a bounty hunter that looks like they are in the prime of their career, ready to embark on a mission. One can’t help but admire the way in which their armor seems to gleam.

Old-Fashioned Violence

Boba Fett Concept Art 3

There’s something innately appealing about concept art that looks a bit old-fashioned. Somehow, it manages to transport the viewer back to an earlier period of filmmaking. That’s precisely the feeling one gets looking at this piece of concept art, which really does seem a little primitive.

At the same time, it makes no secret of the fact that there is something fundamentally violent and dangerous about almost every bounty hunter.

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