Excited about the fresh, new villainous character Cad Bane (Corey Burton) we were just introduced to in the penultimate episode of The Book of Boba Fett? With his big red eyes, growly drawl and imposing blue skin, even if you didn’t know the character from Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Cad Bane is still clearly an exciting addition to the Star Wars universe, and any fan worth their salt would be more than excited to see his adventures going forward.
Well, bad news, because — and spoilers for The Book of Boba Fett finale past this point — Cad Bane is dead.
Or is he???
No, he is. Cad Bane was killed by Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) in the season (and perhaps series?) finale of The Book of Boba Fett, bringing the character’s history in the Star Wars franchise (sort of) full circle. This history was alluded to through several exchanges between Cad and Boba in the finale, but in case you’re not familiar, here’s the short version: Cad Bane was trained by Boba Fett’s “father” Jango Fett (also Morrison); Bane trained Boba Fett; Boba Fett killed Cad.
So, not so much a circle as a wavy line, but beyond bringing the character’s nearly 13-year long history to a close, it’s also a classic Star Wars move that is meant to draw a line between the heroes and antiheroes of the series. Throughout the movie trilogies, which have focused nearly entirely on Jedi and Jedi-adjacent characters, at some point a student tries to kill his master, or is tempted to the Dark Side by the idea of killing his master. In the original trilogy, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) is tempted to kill Darth Vader (James Earl Jones), though balks. In turn, Darth kills his own master, Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid). In the prequel trilogy, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) fights his master, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and loses, turning into Darth Vader. There’s also something to be said for Rey (Daisy Ridley) fighting her sort-of master/grandpa Palpatine, who has somehow returned, but the less we think about that the better.
Point is, students fighting their masters is a whole thing in Star Wars, and the ultimate result is usually that the students (i.e., the Jedi) choose the path of good and decide not to kill. Not Boba Fett! Boba Fett is a bounty hunter, or was until he became Daimyo of Mos Espa. He doesn’t have the squeaky-clean morals the Jedi are always wrestling with. He goes the other direction, in somewhat of a final lesson from Cad Bane.
Though they almost duel earlier in the episode, it isn’t until the final battle in the streets of Mos Espa that Cad Bane and Boba Fett face down for real. Cad taunts Boba, asking him what his “angle” is on the whole Daimyo thing, to which Boba explains that he’s trying to protect his people. Bane doesn’t believe it, says that Boba is a killer, a loner with no friends like him. And if you thought that Boba’s friends would all pop out to help him at that point, proving Cad Bane doesn’t know what he’s talking about and Boba Fett has truly changed in significant ways over the course of the series? Well… You were wrong.
Instead, after being shot multiple times, Boba is on the ground about to be killed at point blank range by Cad, who has removed Boba’s helmet. At the last second, Boba pulls out the staff he made with some Tusken Raiders after escaping the Sarlacc, sweeps the leg (shout-out to Karate Kid) and knocks Cad Bane to the ground. “I knew you were a killer,” Cad Bane growls at Boba, and then to prove him wrong, Boba kills him. Oh, I mean, prove him right.
Boba stabs him with the pointy end of the stick, and leaves Cad Bane for dead in the streets of Mos Espa, his hat placed gently next to him as the camera pans away. Though we didn’t get Boba doing an “I don’t have friends… I got family” moment, a more generous interpretation is that he used everything he learned from the Tuskens to take down Cad Bane, the man who didn’t kill the Tuskens, but did tell him how the Tuskens died in order to taunt him. Look, I didn’t say it made sense. But it did happen!
So, RIP, Cad Bane. Right? Probably. Here’s the thing… As we saw in the very post credits scene of The Book of Boba Fett, characters in the Star Wars universe have a way of returning post-death, or making it back from death at the last second. So while thematically and visually it looks like Cad Bane is very much dead, if he shows up again in The Mandalorian Season 3? Sure, why not. Could happen.
Still, as mentioned, this does put a nice bow on the character, ties into the “it’s like poetry” thing about Star Wars where the same events happen again and again, and seems like a fitting end to Cad Bane; even if we just got to know him in live action. Rest in peace, ya blue bounty hunter. Until the next time we see you.
Where to watch The Book of Boba Fett