How Boba Fett survived the Sarlacc in Star Wars Legends

(Image credit: Lucasfilm)

The Mandalorian season 2 has brought back one of Star Wars' most iconic characters: Boba Fett. Temuera Morrison, who portrayed Jango Fett in the prequels, first appeared in the premiere and returned in Chapter 14 to kick some serious Stormtrooper butt.

Of course, many Star Wars fans may be wondering how exactly the infamous bounty hunter managed to survive the Sarlacc Pitt which ate him up during the events of Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi. Well, we've already seen Din Djarin – Pedro Pascal's Mandalorian – escape the stomach of the Krayt Dragon, so logic follows that Boba could somehow wrestle his own way out of a Sarlacc.

In Legends, Boba literally fights his way out using pure strength and willpower. After a rough landing and losing his memory, Boba is then captured by Jawas, who mistake the unconscious bounty hunter for being a droid. They then shackle him up on their Sandcrawler and put restraining bolts on him. However, soon enough, a familiar face is also captured by the same Jawas – R2D2!

The droid is captured from a hangar in Mos Eisley, and Han Solo and Leia are working to get R2 back. They raid the Sandcrawler and, as Leia calls out to Han, Boba's memories come flooding back to him. Boba manages to escape, only to be eaten up once more by the Sarlacc.

Boba then forms a telepathic bond with another of the Sarlacc's victims, Susejo, who has some control over the monster. Boba goads Susejo and is able to escape using his jet pack. It's an odd story and was first depicted in A Barve Like That: The Tale of Boba Fett, which was a short in the compilation book Tales from Jabba's Palace.

After that second escape, Fett's picked up by fellow bounty hunter Dengar, a Corellian searching the area for valuable leftovers. Dengar nurses Boba back to health and the two become friends, going on various adventures together.

The Mandalorian Boba Fett — (Image credit: Lucasfilm)

From there, Boba makes a few appearances through the Legends story, including working for the reborn Emperor in a contract to kill Han Solo – he fails, as you would expect. Much later, when Boba's in his seventies, he becomes the leader and protector of Mandalore, the home planted of the Mandalorian. It later becomes clear that Boba still holds disdain for both the Jedi and the Sith, believing them both to be as bad as each other having witnessed the death of his father, Jango, at the hands of Mace Windu during the events of Attack of the Clones. He does, however, go on to train Jaina Solo, the daughter of Han and Leia.

So, that's a brief history of Boba Fett in Star Wars Legends. Whether Jon Favreau and the writers of The Mandalorian will borrow any of these elements remains to be seen – but they have taken elements from other non-canon Star Wars stories before

The Mandalorian continues weekly on Disney Plus. Here the full The Mandalorian season 2 release schedule.

Jack Shepherd is the former Senior Entertainment Editor of GamesRadar. Jack used to work at The Independent as a general culture writer before specializing in TV and film for the likes of GR+, Total Film, SFX, and others. You can now find Jack working as a freelance journalist and editor.