In The Empire Strikes Back, Darth Vader hires a group of six bounty hunters to find the Millennium Falcon and capture its crew alive - and here's what happened to them after the movie. Ultimately, Han Solo is frozen in carbonite in Cloud City and taken by Boba Fett to Jabba the Hutt, but the original Star Wars trilogy doesn’t show what happened to the rest of the bounty hunters, nor it goes into detail about who they are and their abilities. Did they stop hunting Luke and the others? And who were they in the past?
Bounty hunters in the world of Star Wars scout the galaxy in their ships, looking for profitable targets, dealing with shady clients, and going to exotic and distant planets. It’s not an easy life, but those quick with a blaster can make a living. Most bounty hunters are part of the Bounty Hunter’s Guild, an organization that regulated the profession and demanded its member to follow the Bounty Hunter Code. During the Imperial era, they would find targets on behalf of the Empire, as “peace-keeping” efforts. Other notorious bounty hunters in canon, beyond Boba Fett, are Jango Fett and Din Djarin, the protagonist of The Mandalorian series.
The Empire Strikes Back featured the first major appearance of bounty hunters, and while it’s a short scene, even then, these six characters stood out. The reaction of the Imperial guards to their presence and the bounty hunter’s varied and alien appearances made them memorable. Because Darth Vader placed his trust in them, the audience realized they were also extremely dangerous. However, with the exception of Boba Fett, these characters mostly stayed in the background of the movies, but there might be answers elsewhere.
Boba Fett
By far the most famous of the group, Boba Fett is the son (and clone) of the bounty hunter Jango Fett. Jango was featured in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, when Obi-Wan Kenobi visited the planet Kamino to investigate a mysterious army. It turns out, Jango Fett was the genetic template for the Republic’s Clone Army, and as payment, he asked for a clone that would age naturally, naming him Boba and treating him as his son. Later, Jango was killed in Geonosis at the start of the Clone Wars.
After his father’s death, Boba Fett joined a group of bounty hunters intending to kill Mace Windu, the Jedi who killed his father. But the young Fett’s mission of revenge ended with him being imprisoned in Coruscant with Bossk. Eventually, he left prison and created his own bounty hunting syndicate, making a name for himself. During the original trilogy, Fett worked for the Hutts and the Empire, and was Jabba’s top bounty hunter. After bringing Han Solo to the Hutt, Boba Fett ends up into the sarlacc pit in Return of the Jedi. His fate is unclear in the new Star Wars canon, but perhaps Boba Fett's upcoming return in The Mandalorian season 2 might shed some light on how he managed to survive the pit.
Bossk
Bossk is a Trandoshan, a race of bipedal reptilian aliens from the planet Trandosha. They are known to be great hunters, and young Trandoshans go on hunts across the galaxy as a rite of passage into adulthood. Bossk is also famous for his Wookie-hunting skills and he was vital in quelling Wookie uprisings during the Imperial era. In Clone Wars, he mentored and protected a young Boba Fett, later joining his syndicate. In Star Wars Rebels, he worked with Ezra during a bounty hunting mission on the planet of Lothal. After Boba Fett captured Han Solo, Bossk is seen aboard Jabba’s pleasure barge in Return of the Jedi.
Dengar
Dengar is a bounty hunter from Corellia, Han Solo’s home planet. Before he became a bounty hunter, he was a gladiator. He enjoys flirting with women and thinks very highly of himself and his skills. Along with blasters, he uses smoke grenades and a fire blade. During the Clone Wars, he was a member of Boba Fett’s syndicate, but at some point, he disappeared, perhaps due to an injury. Sometime later, he began working for Jabba the Hutt.
After the events of the original trilogy and sometime before Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Dengar met another bounty hunter named Mercurial Swift. In the novel Aftermath, the two worked together to hunt down Jas Emari. In the end, Dengar betrayed Swift and sided with Jas, receiving a pardon and a reward from the New Republic. He decided to stick around and became part of Jas’ new group of bounty hunters.
4-LOM
4-LOM is a protocol droid built with insect-like features. Due to a flaw in the LOM-series, he was able to override his original programming, becoming a galactic thief and bounty hunter. Cold and calculating, he specialized in anticipating his prey’s movements. He worked together with Zuckuss, and they managed to capture various high profile bounties for the Hutt clan. It’s speculated that 4-LOM was “freed” by the Droid Greta, a group of droids located in Coruscant that fought for emancipation and rights of droids across the galaxy during the Clone Wars.
Zuckuss
Zuckuss is a Gand, an insect-like species from the planet of the same name. Because they need to breathe ammonia instead of oxygen, Gands are forced to wear respirators outside their planet. Zuckuss is also a findsman, which means he possesses mystical tracking skills and is able to find prey easily. It’s possible his powers are related to the Force, and he might be slightly Force-sensitive. Despite his supernatural abilities and the droid's more fact-based mind, Zuckuss and 4-LOM were effective partners. Although not much else is known about him in the current Star Wars canon, in the Legends universe, Zuckuss suffered from a debilitating lung condition and eventually became an agent for the Rebellion, after they helped him with his health.
IG-88
IG-88 is an assassin droid originally built to serve in the InterGalatic Banking Clan army as an enforcer. Upon activation, he immediately rebelled against his creators, killing them on the spot and becoming rogue. IG-88 enjoys killing, and his skills are feared throughout the galaxy. He threatened and captured Qi’ra and hunted Princess Leia Organa, before being hired by Darth Vader to track down the Millennium Falcon.
After Boba Fett captured Han Solo, IG-88 went on other missions, including trying to infiltrate the second Death Star. Although similar in appearance, the IG droid featured in the TV series The Mandalorian is not IG-88. Instead, his model is IG-11. Not wanting to contradict past stories, the makers of the show decided to create a new character instead of using the model that appeared in The Empire Strikes Back.