The fan-favorite bounty hunter Boba Fett made his long-awaited return in Boba Fett quickly became a popular character among Star Wars viewers, despite his relatively little screentime and dialogue. Fett was defeated in a rather undignified manner by Han Solo, but his escape from the Sarlacc was confirmed in the Legends-era comic, Dark Empire, where he delivered a memorable line that could have appeared in The Mandalorian, but could still appear elsewhere.
Boba’s infamous defeat in Han Solo sending Boba Fett back into the pit yet again, albeit intentionally this time. Fett wouldn’t be truly confirmed to have escaped the Sarlacc until a 1992 issue of Dark Empire.
In the fourth issue of Dark Empire, Han, Leia, and Chewbacca are surprised by the sudden reappearance of Boba Fett on the moon of Nar Shaddaa. With the reborn Emperor Palpatine’s Dark Empire regime threatening to topple the fledgling New Republic, Fett pursued a bounty on Solo and finally revealed his survival to his old enemy. Fett announced his return to the Star Wars franchise with the line “The Sarlacc found me somewhat indigestible, Solo,” which quickly became a favorite among many fans. With Boba Fett’s survival in canon being confirmed in The Mandalorian, some hoped to hear the line spoken by Temuera Morrison, but Fett never said it in his season 2 appearances.
Boba Fett’s reappearance in The Mandalorian season 2 brought several key elements of his (and his father Jango’s) Legends-era stories into the canon continuity. In addition to having Boba escape the Sarlacc, The Mandalorian also directly mentioned Jango Fett’s mentorship under Jaster Mereel and his participation in the Mandalorian Civil War. While the characterization and backstories of Boba and Jango are far more important than a famous line, it’s still disappointing to some that The Mandalorian ed on such an easy opportunity for pure fanservice.
Boba Fett’s post-Sarlacc escapades, and its trailers confirm that Fett’s survival may be explored in greater detail. With the galaxy writ large believing Fett to still be in the pit, which keeps its prey alive as it excruciatingly digests them for a over thousand years, the series will have plenty of opportunities to have Boba utter the famous line to old foes or allies upon revealing his survival. Though highly unlikely, Fett could end up saying the line to Han Solo, should he appear in The Book of Boba Fett.
Alden Ehrenreich played Han Solo in Palpatine’s resurrection and hidden Sith military in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker prevents Dark Empire’s larger story beats from occurring, Fett could potentially encounter Han Solo on Nar Shaddaa and recreate the scene in the broad strokes. The Mandalorian missed its chance to have Boba Fett say his most famous line outside of the films, but The Book of Boba Fett could more than compensate for its absence.
