How Boba Fett Survived The Sarlacc

With the rumors of an upcoming Boba Fett film, many have asked, “How did he survive the Sarlacc pit?” My answer is, he never fell in. I know, I know, I remember the scene, but let’s think for a moment. Boba Fett is the most feared bounty hunter in the entire galaxy. Well, clearly to get this reputation he would have to have some modicum of competence right? I mean, he can’t be taken out by a blind man and a faulty jet pack! I say “of course!” And that’s why it didn’t happen. Now I’m not proposing we move Return of The Jedi into the legends camp, but rather we compare Boba Fett’s scenes in the film to those in The Empire Strikes Back.

Darth Vader gave Boba Fett far more respect and consideration than he had anyone that wasn’t Tarkin or the Emperor. Furthermore, he allowed Fett to speak to him in a manner that no other would be allowed, so this must mean that Vader knows Fett to be a dangerous adversary, correct? Now let’s look at the differences in Boba Fett’s appearance in the films, as this is where my theory really takes hold.

There are drastic differences in Boba Fett’s appearances in the two films, and I do mean drastic. Now if you weren’t looking for them you might never know there were any, but look again! The most obvious detail would be his wrist gauntlets. They appeared the same mint green color as the rest of Boba Fett’s armor in ESB, however in RoTJ they are a dark red color. I’m aware that these changes were almost certainly a result of production of the films, but I’m looking in-universe here. What happened in that three- year span to cause Fett to either get new gauntlets, or paint the old ones red? Or rather were they just a different pair that he changes in and out of depending on his mission?

Let’s look at the next change: his EE-3 Blaster Carbine, which also looks different in Jedi. The most obvious change is the ridges along the barrel that weren’t there in Empire. Is this a modification, or a totally new blaster all together? The barrel wasn’t the only change to the blaster either. As far as I can tell, the scope is the same or very similar, however the mounting brackets were greatly reduced in size later on. There is also a good bit of variation on the stock of the rifle and there’s no sling. Also there is a complete disappearance of his K-11 blaster pistol. Did he lose it?

Moving on to the next most noticeable item, Fett’s jetpack. You know the one that cost him his life… or did it? In Empire, Boba’s pack was also that mint green color just like the gauntlets and the rest of his armor, however when we get to Jedi it is… blue? Well, it’s red, yellow, silver and yeah, blue. Now this is odd to me, because where his gauntlets at least matched the red trim of his helmet, the blue doesn’t match anything. So either Fett is having a much harder time acquiring new Mandalorian tech, or he is becoming tacky in his old age… or something else entirely is going on. But let’s move to the next thing, his cape.

His cape goes from yellow with an orange stripe, to solid green. Hey, I’m sure the cape is the first casualty of a hard claimed bounty, but with all the rest of his armor changing from the green color, why would he make his cape green? Am I the only one who sees the conspiracy here? I mean, I get it people are allowed to change clothes in Star Wars, and sometimes they even change into Han’s clothes, but that is another fan theory for another article. Though I’m sure I can find even more minor changes, I’m only going to touch on one more, and that’s his jumpsuit.

Though at a glance they appear to be the same color in both films, they are in fact not. In Empire, he is wearing a light blue jumpsuit, however in Jedi it is grey. Now if you haven’t guessed where I am going with this yet, get ready to have your mind blown. He isn’t the same guy! That’s right, the Boba Fett you see in Return of the Jedi is a pretender. Is Jabba aware of this? Of course! He is the only one who could benefit from having this doppelganger parade around in mismatched Mandolorian armor! Having the most feared bounty hunter in the galaxy hang around your domicile like a guard dog certainly keeps the riff-raff in line.  I propose Jabba is the one paying the guy, and almost certainly the one who paid for the salvaged armor. This is why the jetpack malfunctioned. It was never there for combat, but rather to keep up the charade, and using it otherwise is what sent this poser straight to the Sarlacc pit. So, you want to know how Boba Fett survived the Sarlacc? He was never in it. He wasn’t even on Tatooine.

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