Bounty hunters have been a beloved element of Star Wars since the days of The Empire Strikes Back. So many fantastic characters in the profession have become fan favorites, whether that be the titular character of The Mandalorian, the likes of Cad Bane in The Clone Wars, or the classics like Boba Fett. It is a fascinating part of the Galaxy with many lore elements most fans are unaware of.
The Mandalorian touched on the Bounty Hunter's Guild more than ever before in canon. While the show does reveal a decent amount about them, there is a lot about the guild, both in its structure and history, that most fans still don't know.
Guild Hubs & Posting Agencies
Spread across the Galaxy, the guild has guild hubs that act as cantinas, populated with a diverse array of species, with hunters and a guild agent inhabiting them. One of these is on Nevarro, seen in The Mandalorian, where Din picks up bounties from agent Greef Karga.
Of course, that is not the only one, with two more popular hubs being known in canon to be on Tatooine and on Carajam. One common trait between these three planets is that they are all on the Outer Rim. During the time of the Empire, these were not Imperial planets, but those planets that were had their own equivalent of guild hubs.
Elections
The guild is not just a free for all with bounty hunters doing what they please; there is leadership within the guild and the agents that liaison with hunters.
To decide these leaders, the guild holds elections, decided on by members of the guild. Those up for contention would campaign just like in politics, using holographic advertisements and sending them to the hunters within the guild.
Seleno Chadro
The guild has never appeared or been mentioned in Star Wars films, but there is a close connection in The Rise Of Skywalker by way of a former guild member named Seleno Chadro.
Chadro is a minor character yet an interesting one. A bounty hunter who was a part of the guild, he gained a reputation for capturing Imperial fugitives after the Empire's fall. This led him to become extremely paranoid about the First Order, prompting him to leave the guild, eventually joining the citizens' fleet on Exegol in aid of the Resistance.
The Mandalorian Armor & Ezra's Gamble
The Bounty Hunters' Guild did not debut in The Mandalorian, nor was it an original product of the canon; it, in fact, it debuted in K. W. Jeter's Legends novel The Mandalorian Armor all the way back in 1998.
As for canon, its first appearance was still not in The Mandalorian, again coming in a novel, this time a junior novel written by Ryder Windham in 2014 called Ezra's Gamble, a story revolving around the protagonist from Star Wars: Rebels.
Bossk's Hunt With Ezra
Bossk is one of the best and most well-known bounty hunters in all of Star Wars, and in terms of the guild, he is one of the most fascinating members, as he has a long history within it.
Bossk was a member of the guild during the Clone Wars, through the Imperial era. He had both been to prison and had bounties placed on him throughout his life. During his time as a guild hunter, he formed a partnership with none other than Ezra Bridger as they worked on a hunt, which led to Bossk being deemed a hero by the Empire across the Imperial HoloNet.
Use By Wealthy Moffs
Moffs were sector governors during the time of the Empire, and they were a rank below Grand Moffs like Tarkin (who oversaw multiple sectors and could overrule Moffs). Some well known Moffs in the Star Wars universe include characters like Moff Jerjerrod and Moff Gideon.
Moffs tended to have a decent amount of wealth, and they frequently used the guild for their dirty work. They would hire individual hunters from the guild and pay them handsomely to deal with their problems.
Relationship With The New Republic & First Order
When the Empire fell, the bounty hunting profession looked to be in danger. And it seems like those fears came true when the New Republic decided to no longer hire bounty hunters.
Years later, when the Resistance was born, Holdo advocated for a relationship between the guild and the Resistance in the fight against the First Order, who had themselves a level of reluctance with dealing with bounty hunters.
Empire Contacted Hunters Directly
The Imperial era was a much better time for business as a bounty hunter, given the relationship between the guild and the Empire, and there was an incentive for hunters to up their skills and become valuable resources.
This is because the Empire would directly contact bounty hunters or a selection of hunters for high profile Galactic jobs. Not tasks for Moffs, but much more meaningful jobs such as hunting the Millennium Falcon in The Empire Strikes Back when Vader sent a call for Boba Fett, Bossk, Dengar, IG-88, 4-Lom, and Zuckuss.
Exact Nature Of The Code
The Bounty Hunters' Guild code is brought up multiple times in the very first few episodes of The Mandalorian, with the rule being hunters must not ask about their bounties after the job is complete and must forget them immediately.
However, there is far more to the code than that. Hunters were forbidden from slaying another guild hunter, a rule that a few hunters broke over the years. They were also not allowed to steal another hunter's bounty. For government bounties, only the one assigned hunter could go after that particular acquisition.
Imperial Office of Criminal Investigations
When it comes to the Empire and their relationship with the Bounty Hunters' Guild, there were certifications required to ensure the legality of the bounty hunting profession, and that meant there were to be people appointed to deal with such matters.
With bounty hunting being such a big thing in the Galaxy, there was, in fact, a whole branch of the Empire to deal with it, with the Imperial Office of Criminal Investigations having an entire department dedicated to the profession and dealings with the guild. They dealt with permits, certificates, and general bureaucratic issues.