Warning! Spoilers for The Book of Boba Fett episode 4 ahead.
Although The Book of Boba Fett provided a long-awaited answer to how the bounty hunter escaped the Sarlacc, the precise time he spent in the pit and with the Tusken raiders between the events from Return of the Jedi and The Mandalorian season 2 is still unclear. The latest Disney+ show set in the Star Wars universe follows two timelines, one in the present as Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) tries to establish himself as a crime-lord taking over Jabba the Hutt’s role on Tatooine, and one in the past showing how Fett escaped the Sarlacc pit and his subsequently being rescued and living with the Tuskens. It makes for a murky timeline, but The Book of Boba Fett episode 4 shines a bit more light on it.
The Book of Boba Fett‘s first three episodes detail many of the trials the titular character had to face to succeed Jabba as the new daimyo of Mos Espa, but in the present, Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen) is there to support him throughout all that’s happening in Mos Espa. The Book of Boba Fett episode 4 explores their story, showing how what started as a rescue turned into a loyal working relationship between the bounty hunter and the assassin, with their aim to set up a house and not work as independent contractors anymore. However, The flashback exchange between them right after Boba Fett’s attempt at finding his armor might offer a glimpse at how much time had passed before meeting his partner in crime.
According to Star Wars canon, the events from Return of the Jedi happened in 4ABY (After the Battle of Yavin), while The Mandalorian season 2, where Boba Fett reappeared, is set in 9ABY. The Book of Boba Fett doesn’t provide what happened to Boba Fett in those five years between. But it’s likely he spent longer with the Tuskens than it seems. For starters, the impact the Tuskens had on Boba Fett suggests his time with them was longer than a few months, as he emerged from his stay with them a changed man. Although he was initially held against his will, the Tuskens eventually let him into their tribe and showed him how to fight the way they did. When Boba Fett met Fennec Shand in the Book of Boba Fett flashback, he shared that he owed who he had become to the Sand People and how he needed to avenge them by facing the bike gang responsible for the Tuskens’ slaughter, the Nikto Sand Riders.
That sort of bond or quest for revenge doesn’t come about from a casual connection, and bonds that strong are forged over time. Showing Boba Fett’s past as dreams that he had while healing in the bacta pod proved an apt way to fill in viewers on what he had done up to that point. But it was confirmed that a few days maximum were spent by Boba Fett in the Sarlacc, meaning that most of his time in the five years between then and his meeting with Din Djarin in The Mandalorian wasn’t spent there, which makes sense–Boba Fett would have died of dehydration or starvation not long after having been thrown into the pit.
The Book of Boba Fett still hasn’t cleared up when some events of the titular character’s past precisely happened. Nonetheless, it could be assumed that Boba Fett may have spent most of those five years with the Tuskens, and then part of his time on jobs with Fennec Shand. Hopefully, the second half of The Book of Boba Fett season 1 will define the precise timeline, especially as it would give more insight into the interesting ways former bounty hunter Boba Fett changed in that handful of years.
The Book of Boba Fett releases new episodes Wednesdays on Disney+.
- Rogue Squadron (2023)Release date: Dec 22, 2023
About The Author
