Despite having little screen time in the original Star Wars trilogy Boba Fett immediately became a favorite character amongst series fans. Boba Fett made his first appearance in 1978 at the San Anselmo Country Fair parade. A few weeks later he appeared in the Star Wars Holiday Special playing a man of mystery who saves Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca, R2-D2, and C-3PO, only to betray them as an agent of Darth Vader.

His roots are in the initial concept design for Darth Vader who was originally conceived as a rogue bounty hunter. As Vader evolved into a more sophisticated villain and less of a mercenary the base idea of a primary bounty hunter in the Star Wars universe remained. Ralph McQuarrie, the designer of Darth Vader, Chewbacca, R2-D2, and C-3PO was the original concept artist for Boba Fett. The character was then turned over to Joe Johnston for finalization.

Boba Fett was designed at Industrial Light and Magic in California and the costume was built in EMI in London. His armor was first meant for a group of Supertroopers from the Mandalore system with weapons built into the suit, but was adapted for Boba Fett when the character was being developed. His armor was all white during screen testing, leading the designer to transition the color scheme to a rather plain one. It’s very different from Darth Vader’s black, the Stormtroopers white, or the Imperial Guards red which sets him apart, while giving him the opportunity to fade into the background. It was also meant to appear as though it had been patched together from a variety of sources. The armor was given a look of aging and denting, though Johnston kept the wrist lasers, flying backpack, and rocket darts meant for the Supertroopers.

Despite the fact that his addition to the Star Wars storyline was widely publicized, the part was cut short adding to the mystery of the character. Lucas has stated that if he had known how popular the character would be he would’ve made the death more impressive and exciting.

Fans of the Fett should check out Hake’s Americana & Collectibles upcoming auction featuring a Star Wars Boba Fett boxed mail-away action figure. The deep plain white cardboard mailing box, measuring 1.5” by 4.5” by 1.5” contains the 3.75” tall poseable action figure. The figure and gun are still sealed in the original plastic bag.