The Mysterious Cobb Vanth: Precurser To a Post-Return of the Jedi Boba Fett Film?
In Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath trilogy, it’s very much out with the old and in with the new. As he paints the picture of what the galaxy looks like after the death of Emperor Palpatine, we begin to see some really interesting things begin to take shape in all the various corners of the galaxy. The status quo has shifted and vacant positions of power are slowly being filled. In one of the interludes that he uses to break up the main narrative, Wendig focuses on Tatooine and the vaccum of power that exists following the death of the notorious crimelord Jabba the Hutt.
After Jabba’s death, a criminal organization known as the Red Key Raiders moved in on Jabba’s former turf and began a takeover of his criminal empire on Tatooine. Meanwhile, a mysterious man known as Cobb Vanth had acquired an old suit of Mandalorian armor from a group of Jawas and set himself up as the de facto law enforcement on Tatooine, taking the fight to the Red Key crime syndicate.
Although never explicitly stated, it is quite clear that this armor is none other than that of Boba Fett, leading many readers to believe that this mysterious Cobb Vanth is actually the old bounty hunter himself now going by an alias. However, it is revealed in Empire’s End that Vanth was formerly a slave on Tatooine, who along with many others, became a free man after Jabba’s death. Vanth, along with Jabba’s former beastmaster Malakili, stages an uprising against the Red Key Raiders.
Vanth has also succeeded in forming an alliance with the Tusken Raiders as well by gifting them with a pearl from a krayt dragon’s belly. They also resent the Red Key Raiders for setting up camp on a sight that is sacred to their people, and they have a great deal of respect for Vanth, as it is revealed that he is raising a Huttlet named Borgo.
“I find it strange that you thought your ploy could work. I mean, really. Just because you have a Hutt-slug doesn’t mean you can install it on the dais and control Tatooine.” – Lorgan Movellan of the Red Key Raiders to Cobb Vanth
With all of this now revealed, Wendig still remains cryptic about who exactly Cobb Vanth is, as well as the true motivations behind his actions. He vies for freedom, but the reasoning behind his methods doesn’t quite add up just yet, and while he may actually be Boba Fett in disguise, the characters in the book seem to doubt as much:
“You don’t deserve that armor…Is it even real Mandalorian armor? Looks like something hammered out on a swindler’s forge. Besides…wearing a strong man’s armor doesn’t change how weak you are. Take his helmet off.” – Lorgan Movellan to Vanth
While it was neat to read about what took place on Tatooine after Return of the Jedi, one glaring bantha is still sitting conspicuously in the middle of the room: What happened to Boba Fett? The fact that so much emphasis was placed on Fett’s armor and Vanth’s ambiguous identity without answering any real questions leads me to believe that the Lucasfilm Story Group has something else in the works for the fan-favorite character.
In Life Debt, it is revealed that the Sarlaac was injured by raining debris from the explosion of Jabba’s sail barge and partially exposed from the sliding sands as a result. Malakili took note that the stoma-tubes had been split open and that industrious Jawas had pillaged its digesting innards. Skeletons were found as well, but unless Jabba was greatly exagerrating about the thousand year digestive cycle of the Sarlaac, I think we have to assume that Boba Fett made it out of there alive and has left behind his iconic armor to move on to new adventures elsewhere.
Maybe it was Fett himself that cut open the creature from the inside to make his escape, but the details remain unclear and ambiguous. Regardless of what happened to Fett, it has already been hinted at by the folks at Lucasfilm that Fett survived Return of the Jedi, and we know that a Boba Fett film was in the works up until it was abandoned in favor of moving forward with the Han Solo film following the departure of director Josh Trank.
With the intrigue surrounding the Boba Fett persona in the wake of the Aftermath trilogy, I have to wonder if that idea is not back on the table now. While a young Boba Fett story is definitely not out of the question, I tend to lean toward a post-Return of the Jedi adventure with the bounty hunter, given the mystery generated by the Aftermath interludes. The fact that a young Boba Fett has already appeared in the prequels and The Clone Wars, and has been rumored to feature on Rebels as well, also leads me to favor the idea of a true sequel to Fett’s seemingly untimely end at Jabba’s sail barge on Tatooine rather than a tale of his origins as the most feared bounty hunter in the galaxy.
This is all just speculation of course, but with what we know already and with the mystery perpetuated by Wendig in his trilogy surrounding the character, I have to wonder if this isn’t something that’s on the near horizon. I fully expect, along with the glorious teaser for The Last Jedi, that Lucasfilm will announce the next project to follow the Han Solo film at Star Wars Celebration Orlando this April. While they may have decided to go a completely different route with Boba Fett, I think there is definitely a story to be told here. It might come in the form of a future novel or a limited comic series instead, but don’t rule out the possibility of a Fett feature.
What do you think? Is a Boba Fett movie still on the horizon? Should it expain his origins or should it follow his escape from the Sarlaac? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Jordan Pate is Co-Lead Editor and Senior Writer for Star Wars News Net, of which he is also a member of the book and comic review team. He loves all things Star Wars, but when he's not spending time in the galaxy far far away, he might be found in our own galaxy hanging out in Gotham City or at 1407 Graymalkin Lane, Salem Center, NY.
Kitster
That’s so wizard.
How little Annie abandoning him led to his downward spiral, turning to the dark side & eventual rise as Snoke!
Kitster is Snoke CONFIRMED!
Really don’t understand the zeal for Fett. I know Disney just wants to make money, and these are safe movies to make, but I really want them to expand out. Ashoka, KOTOR, Yoda 500 years ago. Come on Disney, grow a pair already. Mix the known characters with new stuff. Solo, something new, Fett, something new, etc.
I agree. Bobba Fett wasn’t awesome in the movies, only in the eyes of fans. Sure he looked cool, but there’s no reason to think he’s too bad-ass to have been eaten by the sarlaac. It’s almost like saying Jango Fett might’ve survived having his head whacked off (perhaps replaced with the battle droid head which C3PO’s body was sporting). Something a little new, a bit removed from the existing trilogies might be awesome. How about the formation of the Jedi order or something like that?
Expand out by doing Ashoka, Yoda and Kotor? Is that expanding? How is that different? I don’t understand the zeal for Kotor so I can make the same argument.
i mean things we have not seen on film before. I don’t begrudge people that want a Fett movie, just as I do not expect all people to want the movies I want. My only hope is they mix it up with a balance of familiar and unfamiliar movies
Thing about KOTOR in my opinion is that it can offer a lot of fresh ideas because it is a whole new era we haven’t (canonically) explored. So it’s like an open field of ideas they can toy around with. Similar to the clone wars era..it’s filled with rich content to the point where they can make endless amounts of stories during that time period..it’s great!
In theory, yes. But what I have seen in that era doesn’t impress me so far. Maybe the canon version will be better!
What HAVE we seen form that era, anyway. A cross-guard lightsaber and Darth Bane in a samurai outfit? That’s not much.
I mean from KOTOR.
Fett, like han Solo, is the gateway to different types of films, mainly those that don’t rely solely on space wizards.
Re: “gateway to different types of films” / “space wizards”
Agree completely. Lots of opportunity to explore stories with nothing to do with the Force, as well as other genres & locations (Fett w/bounty hunting/crime & outer rim or unknown regions & such).
I enjoyed Chirrut in R1, a lot actually, but if he’s the last Force sensitive/wielding/whatever we see in the “story” movies, I’d be happy about that.
exactly. i love the jedi and the force and all that stuff but having it once a year would be too much. the anthology films are a great place to explore the galaxy at large minus the force.
I’d like a Young Han Solo II – with Han and Boba Fett as frenemies working for Jabba
This is the correct approach.
My prediction (just my guess): the third Star Wars Story will focus on Vader and be set after ESB.
Bobo Movie Title
Disintegrations !
Re: Disintegrations !
We’ll have none of that!
Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen didn’t get the memo.
That wasn’t Fett.
I didn’t say he did or not, I said Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen didn’t get the message. It sure wasn’t storm trooper…or maybe it was, that’s what it looks when they hit their targets
they probably got paid a visit by these guys…
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/abdfd4b8c12c8313a72badb4336c44c31c43e1524e95cb266602ec02d33e83f3.png
Those guys are cool
I’m nearly certain it has been confirmed by Pablo that Stormtroopers took out the Lars family.
It’s called sarcasm In time you will learn to use it as I have, my young Padawan
Well, you never can tell in these threads these days.
Star Wars: Screaming like this in the hope of the secrecy
Screaming me over and over and over
Cool. I think they should do a post Jedi get story but also shows everything else’s state in the galaxy. I’m really interested in this time period we know almost nothing about.
Any film about the underworld would be cool.
Yeah. They should make a movie about the marauders and set it on Endor.
Star Wars: 1313:
THE MOVIE
yes, please.
I want a movie where the rebels have to infiltrate the Imperial palace after Palpatine’s death to find out where the remaining Imperial troops are located at. Since the palace is still guarded too well on the surface they have to go through the underground levels of Coruscant. Similar to “The Raid” where they have to get to the top of the building in this movie it would get more hostile with every level they are descending. You could bring in some kind of guide like an aged Cad Bane helping the Rebels or something like that. In the end the Rebels would not only find out abotu the formation of the New Order but also more details on Palpatines plan to visit the outer Regions.
I always liked the idea of Boba Fett losing his mind after Jedi from his time in the Sarlaac and being the polar opposite of the bounty hunter he was in the OT. It was never really confirmed that he was per se but in the old EU, He’s very much a different character or at least until Travis turned him into a boring family man.
How about a Jango Fett film?
Uhhh…. AOTC
I meant like about Jango Fetts life on Concord Dawn and where his parents get killed by death watch. And where he gets hired by Count Dooku on one of the moons of Bohgden. Like the starwars bounty hunter game. I know all that stuff I just mentioned are not canon anymore but its just something I wish they would do someday.
that would probably fit better in a comic run then a feature film.
Or an obi wan kenobi on tatooine film.
yeah that too
How about an original film?
Dude its just an idea
this guys gets it..
I was hoping for more Star Wars films myself. Though original film has its place.
I would love to see more Prequel era films. Daniel Logan could play a young Jango. I’d chose it over a Boba film at least. Jango had much more character development. At least in the films.
Hopefully not. I’d like my Boba Fett film to star Boba Fett, though ideally, they wouldn’t even MAKE a Boba Fett film.
I MEAN https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/08c5f2a406ee17a83b46c8a6fa6d91e7c2672ecaba97d54f3fcc136114acfbb7.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/72d35fdd64958592761483e4a43de5679d26532c54f44a9826addf178f9b3daf.jpg
I MEAN GUYS LOOK AT THIS! https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/08c5f2a406ee17a83b46c8a6fa6d91e7c2672ecaba97d54f3fcc136114acfbb7.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/72d35fdd64958592761483e4a43de5679d26532c54f44a9826addf178f9b3daf.jpg
Give it it me NOW.
Yeah, let’s get excited for something many of us would love to see that we probably won’t. Clock’s ticking for H.C. being able to reprise his role with better written dialogue…
They should have done more with bounty hunters on Rebels.
The best way to bring Fett back is with simplicity and a little bit of mystery post ROTJ. We don’t need to know that the sail barge rained debris down on the sarlacc, that caused it to fart which in turned expelled fett out..
No… just straight up copy Veitch with Fett suddenly appearing and stating “the sarlacc found me somewhat… indigestable. ”
That was perfect.
Damn I would love that James Bond like attitude! I think this could work great for Fett. A skilled bounty hunter who goes where he pleases and pleases where he goes. And no matter how bad the situation is he will shrug it off like nothing happened with a cool oneliner 😀
Lorgan Movellan? Cobb Vanth? Jesus. Fanfic Star Wars names are the worst. They sound like Star Wars parody names.
Hey, Ean Sleazbaggano was already canon.
I hear they’re doing a Kitster spinoff.
Kitster is Vanth is Fett