When Boba Fett made his official return in 'The Mandalorian' Season 2's "The Tragedy", in which he lays waste to Stormtroopers even before he's finally reunited with his armor, it was all too easy to be distracted by seeing the iconic character back in live-action and forget that he was actually supposed to be dead! So how did Boba survive the sarlac pit in 'The Empire Strikes Back'?
When Disney purchased Lucasfilm back in 2012, all pre-existing 'Star Wars' material, with the exception of the original trilogy, the prequel trilogy and 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars', was wiped from canon. Now, everything pre-merger has been dubbed 'Star Wars: Legends', and is no longer considered canon within the 'Star Wars' universe, but there for fans to enjoy all the same.
But this isn't the first time Boba Fett has been brought back from the dead. In 'Star Wars: Legends', Boba Fett survived the sarlac pit by using his jetpack to create an explosion, and thus a way out of the sand-dwelling monster. But as that's no longer the case, with the novel in which this happens now being part of 'Star Wars: Legends', it begs to question how he did survive the sarlac pit.
It's possible that Disney and Lucasfilm may wish to use that material to explain how Boba crawled out from the hellish monster (which spends 1,000 years digesting its victims - yuck!), or perhaps they'll offer up a different explanation altogether. Or maybe we won't get one, but with 'The Book of Boba Fett' on the horizon, it's unlikely this stone will be left completely unturned.
When we first see Boba Fett in 'The Mandalorian' - without his armor - it's obvious that he has burns all over his face (and presumably his body) too, which is undoubtedly from the sarlac's corrosive stomach acids (have we said yuck already?). Burns and scorch marks can also be seen on his armor too, which actually makes it look way more cooler than it ever did in the original trilogy.
So, whether it's going to be explored or even briefly touched upon in 'The Book of Boba Fett', how do we think Boba Fett survived? Well, first we need to address the fact that the bounty hunter went into the sarlac after being bounced around like a pinball in 'Return of the Jedi' (a pretty cringe-worthy death for the character, but let it be said that he was in no way iconic at that point in time).
So it's safe to assume that he went right into the belly of the beast. But how did he get out? Well, for starters, we know he did get out, and we think it has something to do with his jetpack (putting the now non-canonical explanation aside). After Luke, Leia, Han, and Chewie were done fighting with Jabba and his people up above, perhaps Boba activated his pack and flew out of the sarlac!
But is there really any way out once you've gone in? After all, the creature lives beneath the sand. Perhaps he used all the weaponry he had at his disposal and unleashed fury upon the creature, and eventually clawed his way out back onto the desert surface. But there's one thing we're clearly missing - however he made his escape, Boba ended up in the sarlac's stomach acid before he did.
It's possible then, that someone came to Boba Fett's rescue, and maybe this will come as a huge revelation in 'The Book of Boba Fett'. If the showrunners decide not to bother explaining how he got out, they may be passing up a pretty big opportunity to include another 'Star Wars' character, and there are many other characters who were alive at this time.
Perhaps explaining Boba's survival would be a good way to introduce characters from other 'Star Wars' shows such as 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars', 'Star Wars: Rebels', or the more recent 'Star Wars: The Bad Batch'. In the latter show, there are characters with close ties to Boba Fett, such as Omega - who may very well show up in 'The Book of Boba Fett' considering she's his sister.
In 'The Bad Batch', it's revealed that Omega is a direct replication of Jango Fett - the original 'source' clone, as seen in 'Attack of the Clones'. In that film, Jango is Boba Fett's father (although we know that Boba is also a clone of Jango, hence the return of Temuera Morrison). But interestingly, Jango calls Boba 'Alpha' in that film. Looking back, this is even further evidence that Boba and Omega are indeed siblings.
Or maybe Clone Force 99 - who, like Boba, are clones created by the Republic. But maybe we're thinking too much along the lines of fellow clones - if anyone could have freed Boba from a sarlac pit of all things, then it's more likely to have been a Jedi. Ahsoka, perhaps? After all, 'The Book of Boba Fett' will also run concurrently with 'Ahsoka', so it might be a good way to bridge that gap.
Either way, however, Boba Fett survived - and whoever might have been involved in his escape - is something for the showrunners to decide, should they decide to take the route of explaining it. If they don't, it will be a shame, because it's a question fans are dying to have the answer to.
'The Book of Boba Fett' arrives on Disney+ on December 29.
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