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This Theory May Prove Boba Fett Set ‘Star Wars’ In Motion

By Dustin Wicksell
Published on: 06:13 PST, Sep 26, 2014

Bounty hunter Boba Fett may not have appeared in Star Wars: Episode IV until the 1997 Special Edition release, but one fan theory is alleging that the Mandalorian had a much larger role in the first film than previously imagined, pulling the off-screen trigger that sent Luke Skywalker to war.

As Moviepilot points out, there are many subtle indications and references in the first two Star Wars movies that Fett may actually be to blame for the deaths of Luke’s Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru. While Obi-Wan Kenobi famously notes the precision aim of Imperial Stormtroopers (a tenuous notion in the Star Wars universe), implying that they are responsible for the slaughter of Luke’s family, there are several reasons they might not be.

Firstly, what we see of the Stormtroopers on Tatooine suggests they employ every tactic besides direct assault, while Darth Vader seems fond of interrogating captives rather than killing them (unless you happen to be his former Jedi master). Vader was also aware that the Lars family lived on Tatooine, and as Top Tenz points out, their continued residence after the rise of the Empire suggests he may have been protecting them, or at the least ignoring them for that reason.

So what makes Boba Fett a likely candidate? The evidence is scattered, but substantial. The Star Wars Special Edition proved to fans that Fett was on Tatooine at the time, in the employ of Jabba the Hutt. Obi-Wan Kenobi also inadvertently referenced Fett when he observed the killer’s careful aim. Boba was, after all, the unaltered clone of Jango Fett, possessing skills superior to the non-clone stormtroopers of Episodes IV – VI, who have anything but accurate aim.

Boba Fett also had motive. The killing of Owen and Beru Lars suggests their murderer didn’t have a place to detain them for interrogation (Stormtroopers would), and wanted to cover their tracks, possibly from other bounty hunters on the trail of C-3PO and R2-D2. Stormtroopers also wouldn’t have a reason to frame Tusken Raiders for the deaths of Jawas, or the Lars family.

Possibly the most tantalizing evidence that Boba Fett was responsible for the carnage that sent Luke Skywalker to war against his father’s Empire comes during The Empire Strikes Back, when Vader speaks to a conclave of bounty hunters about to go after the Millennium Falcon. Pointedly, he stops in front of Boba Fett and intones a single rule for the pursuit.

“You are free to use any methods necessary, but I want them alive… No disintegrations.”

Tellingly, the only people we observe disintegrated in the Star Wars trilogy are the Jawas, as well as the remains of Vader’s own family. It could be a coincidental problem in Vader’s past dealings with Boba Fett, or it could be the clearest indication that Fett was responsible for the death of Owen and Beru Lars.

With Disney’s acquisition of the Star Wars franchise, a standalone Boba Fett movie is reportedly in the works for 2016, as The Inquisitr has previously noted. Whether or not Star Wars will ever address the question is a matter of pure conjecture, but for some fans, there is ample evidence that the Lars family was indeed killed by Boba Fett.

[Image via Screenrant]

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