The Book of Boba Fett has had its tumultuous finale, and staying true to its Spaghetti Western routes, it ended in an epic gunfight on the dusty streets of Mos Espa on Tatooine. The Pyke Syndicate brought their entire army, helmed by bounty hunter Cad Bane, down on Fett’s ragtag team in an attempt to wipe them out, but this is Star Wars and our underdogs will always prevail! Especially if the underdogs have a sweet and spicy Rancor on their side!
The battle ends with a showdown between Fett and his father’s former mentee Bane, with Fett able to use his Tusken Raider gaderffii to pierce Bane through the chest and defeat him.
Who is Cad Bane?
Cad Bane (voiced by actor Corey Burton) is the wily, sharp-shooting Duros bounty hunter who is hired by the Pyke Syndicate to help wipe out Boba Fett and take control of Tatooine in order to further their interest in the Spice trade. Bane is tall and thin, with blue skin and red eyes.
Trained by Jango Fett, Bane is cold, cruel, and was willing to take any job no matter how sinister. He was often employed by Darth Sidious and the Hutts. He was so wily and strategic that he often outwitted the Jedi, and became known as one of the best bounty hunters in the galaxy.
So how old is Cad Bane?
According to Star Wars: Scum and Villainy: Case Files on the Galaxy’s Most Notorious, (a canon reference book written by Pablo Hidalgo), Cad Bane was 41 years old in the year 7956 C.R.C., which was eleven years after the Boonta Eve podrace dated at 32 BBY.
This means that Bane was born in the year 62 BBY. And since the events of The Book of Boba Fett take place nine years after the Battle of Yavin (or 9 ABY), it means that Cad Bane is roughly 71 years old when he appears in the show.
The inspiration for Cad Bane
Because George Lucas was so heavily influenced by both Japanese samurai films (like Akira Kurosawa’s The Hidden Fortress) and spaghetti westerns (especially those by Sergio Leone), writer and producer Dave Filoni wanted to continue those homages throughout the continuing Star Wars stories of Clone Wars, Rebels, The Mandalorian, and now The Book of Boba Fett.
The Mandalorian is, in many ways, a Star Wars reinterpretation of Lone Wolf and Cub, and many of the Star Wars universe’s greatest villains are modeled on the meanest cowboys and bounty hunters of Leone’s wild west. Including the baddest bounty hunter of all—Cad Bane.
The look and voice of Bane is a direct homage to Lee Van Cleef’s “Angel Eyes” in the epic The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. A quick-draw killer and ruthless, often sadistic mercenary who loves a wide-brimmed hat, Angel Eyes could always be counted on to complete the job, no matter how dirty. He was eventually defeated by Clint Eastwood’s “good” bounty hunter, Blondie. That sounds like Cad Bane and Boba Fett to me!
What is Cad Bane’s connection to Boba Fett?
Bane was taught the art of bounty hunting by Jango Fett, Boba’s father. In fact, according to a clip shown during the Animated Origins and Unexpected Fates panel during Celebration Orlando in 2017, Bane and Fett were meant to have a four-episode arc in The Clone Wars TV series before it was canceled.
Bane and Fett were apparently going to team up to rescue a child kidnapped by Tusken Raiders. In the clip, Bane and Fett end in a stand-off duel where Bane is the one to give Boba Fett the now-iconic dent in his helmet. Perhaps we will get to see more of their shared history (via flashbacks) if The Book of Boba Fett returns for a second season!
(images: Disney+, United Artists)
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