Star Wars Theory: Boba Fett's Solo Cameo Set Up His Movie

It turns out Boba Fett may make a cameo in Solo: A Star Wars Story after all, although most viewers are guaranteed to miss it. It's hard to spot, but the cameo is complicated by the fact that this isn't the Boba Fett fans know and love - not yet.

For some, that alone will mean that this helmeted bounty hunter cameo isn't 'truly' an appearance by Boba Fett, considering how iconic his armor and helmet have become. But it's important to remember that this cameo, if it is what it appears to be, was filmed long before Lucasfilm decided to abandon their Boba Fett movie. Back then, the plan was not only to tell Boba Fett's origin story, but possibly include Alden Ehrenreich's young Han Solo, too. With that in mind, this possible cameo has given us a new theory as to Lucasfilm's grander plan. A plan that may never see the light of day, since Solo's box office scrapped it upon release.

Had it worked, it would have interconnected the standalone Star Wars anthology movies as deeply as the Marvel Cinematic Universe... and would all have started with Boba Fett's cameo in the background of Han Solo's first adventure.

This Page: Boba Fett's Cameo in Solo Explained
Page 2: How The Cameo Set Up Boba Fett's Movie

Boba Fett's Cameo in Solo: A Star Wars Story

The cameo is incredibly hard to spot, so it makes sense that it would go unnoticed for so long (despite audiences going into the film actively looking for Boba Fett to make an appearance). Thanks to Reddit user 'TX-Snakebyte' we now know that there are two main reasons why fans can miss it: first, the entire scene set inside The Lodge - the bustling drinking and gaming hall where Han meets Lando - is colored with a deep sepia, and seems intentionally poorly lit on all but the movie's heroes. The second reason? Fans aren't looking for a Mandalorian helmet, but the one seen above: a far less unique helm worn by a man in a high-collared coat, paying close attention to Han Solo and his allies as they make their presence known near a droid cage fight.

The T-shape design on the faceplate will be enough for some to speculate on the rest, but take a closer look at the green color scheme, the red accents below the narrow visor, and the yellow 'killstripes' lined across the front, and the similarities are too obvious to ignore. If this isn't supposed to be Boba Fett in a prototype helmet, then the filmmakers went to an awful lot of detail to make viewers think it was. So allow us to address the immediate, obvious question...

Why is Boba Fett's Helmet Different in Solo?

This detail is likely to cause some skeptics to instantly dismiss the cameo as coincidence - but that would be a mistake. For movie fans, the scene following Jango Fett's death in Star Wars: Episode 2 - Attack of the Clones ended clearly enough: Boba bending down to lift his father's helmet, with viewers left to assume Boba would take it, repaint it, and make it famous as his own. But those who watched the animated Clone Wars series know... that isn't actually what happened.

In fact, fans should never have been looking for Boba Fett's bounty hunter armor in a prequel movie at all... since it probably didn't exist yet. To get into those details, we'll need to dive a bit deeper into the new Star Wars canon to explain why the cameo now makes perfect sense, and how it may all have been leading to the Han Solo/Boba Fett movie crossover long rumored to be Disney's plan.

Page 2 of 2: How This Boba Fett Cameo Sets Up His Own Movie

Why Boba Fett's Cameo Fits With His Origin

In hindsight, it's obvious that looking for Boba Fett in his signature armor so early in the Star Wars timeline was always a mistake. And it's this proto-Boba cameo which raises the most exciting questions about just what the studio was planning. But first things first: Why do we know Boba Fett wouldn't have been wearing Jango's helmet? Because Boba did, in fact, retrieve his father Jango's helmet from the Geonosis arena where he was killed by Mace Windu.

Those who watched the Clone Wars saw what happened next, as Boba was raised by bounty hunter Aurra Sing to hopefully get revenge on Mace Windu. During one of Boba's less flawed assassination attempts, he rigged Jango's helmet to act as bait, but functioning as a detonation sensor that triggered a massive explosion - but ultimately failed to kill Mace or Anakin. It did blow most of Jango's helmet into shrapnel, however, meaning Boba had to find his own as he grew into adulthood.

As for the rest of Jango's armor? It's possible Boba kept it until he was old enough to wear it, then repainted it in his iconic green as he started to make a reputation for himself. But he wouldn't have a helmet, since neither Boba nor Jango were actually Mandalorian (a clarification that many fans forget, still drawing on the old, now non-canon expanded universe stories). So without one to inherit, Boba would have had to make due with a helmet of his own construction. And he would need a helmet, imitation Mandalorian or not, considering his face is also the one belonging to tens of thousands of Clone Soldiers guaranteed to be hunted down if suspected of desertion.

But he might have another reason to conceal his identity when tracking his targets, and Solo: A Star Wars Story drops a major clue as to why Boba's story would potentially overlap with Han's. Even if it didn't make sense... until audiences saw this part of the story from Boba's point of view.

Boba Fett & Solo's Movie Were Connected?

If fans want to shift into full-on theorizing, Disney has filled this scene with some tantalizing possibilities. Think about it: in a movie set in Han Solo's early days, a character appearing to be Boba Fett on his own path appears on screen (Boba and Han are about the same age in the official timeline). The scene just happens to be one in which the characters confirm Tobias Beckett, Han's mentor murdered Aurra Sing, the onetime mentor and guardian to Boba. Add in the reports that Boba Fett's own origin film was being planned at the same time, with the actor playing Han Solo expected to cameo, and the theory writes itself.

Fans might bristle at the insistence of making Han Solo and Boba Fett lifelong enemies. But seeing this crossing-over of their paths first from Han's perspective, then later, Boba's? That's the kind of shared universe that even Marvel hasn't dared set into stone. But if Solos's struggles mean this cameo was all for naught, then perhaps we know why it's so rarely attempted.

Again, it can only be speculation on our part, since the plans that were brewing were all sidelined by Solo's disappointing reception. But never know what could have been doesn't mean fans can't imagine, and the clues and rumors all point to something special in the realm of connected movie universes. Who knows what the future may hold, but until this period of Star Wars history is once again plumbed for overlapping origin stories, fans can dream of the scene where Boba first laid eyes on Solo.