Darth Vader And Boba Fett Almost Were Much, Much Closer
In The Empire Strikes Back, we see that Darth Vader has some kind of past history with Boba Fett. While the Empire has gathered several bounty hunters to track down their Rebel targets, Vader singles Fett out with a warning of “no disintegrations,” implying that he knows Fett to be something of a loose cannon. Later Star Wars books and novels would flesh out their relationship, but that relationship was nearly very different because George Lucas toyed with the idea of making Darth Vader and Boba Fett brothers.
Vader And Fett Were Almost Brothers
This information comes to us courtesy of Lucas’ former wife Marcia Lucas. According to her, George Lucas considered making Darth Vader and Boba Fett brothers in the Star Wars prequels. Eventually, Lucas ditched the idea because he realized it would be “too hokey,” even for an over-the-top galaxy far, far away.
Sadly, Marcia Lucas didn’t really elaborate on how or why George Lucas would have made Darth Vader and Boba Fett into siblings. Looking back, we certainly agree with the decision to not make these two infamous villains into brothers because they are better as characters with completely separate backstories. However, we can’t help but think about how this change would have affected the Star Wars prequels and retroactively impacted how we viewed the Original Trilogy.
Son Of Shmi Skywalker?
For example, if Darth Vader and Boba Fett were related, then the most famous of Mandalorians would have had a very different story. He couldn’t simply be a Jango Fett clone cooked up on Kamino…instead, he would have had to have been the son of Shmi Skywalker, with Cliegg Lars potentially being his father. Unless Fett, too, was somehow created by the Force.
It Could Have Worked In Some Contexts
Speaking of which, if Darth Vader and Boba Fett were both the sons of Shmi Skywalker, the bounty hunter might have been revealed to secretly have Force powers. That could have retroactively explained Fett’s confidence and skill in attacking Jedi like Luke Skywalker. If he was secretly a powerful Force user packing guns instead of lightsabers, he would have been a powerful tool of the Empire for his ability to hunt and kill Jedi by secretly using their same bag of tricks.
Different Emotional Stakes Would Be Explored
If Darth Vader and Boba Fett were brothers, it would better explain how he survived the sarlacc Pit and certainly would have made The Book of Boba Fett a better show (though almost anything might have done that).
Instead of coming back and just being a generic crime lord, Boba Fett would have returned to a world where his brother was dead, the Empire was in shambles, and his nephew was training the next generation of the Jedi Fett had once helped hunt and kill. The emotional stakes of that alone would have made that show far better than any goofy speeder chases or Rancor attacks.
The Brother That Could Have Been
Again, we think that Lucas ultimately made the right decision in not making Darth Vader and Boba Fett brothers, allowing each character to have their own unique story. Still, in a world where fans are constantly debating if Star Wars has changed too much, it’s fascinating to think about how such a major change could have transformed the entire franchise. If nothing else, we’re certain he’d object to Rey waking up one day and calling herself a Skywalker despite having no blood connection to the most famous Jedi family of all.
