Fans are still reeling from the news yesterday that we almost got aBoba Fett trailerfor what should have been the secondStar Warsspin-off. But the director of that movie, Josh Trank, was reportedly fired for bad behavior on the set ofFantastic Four. And the project was scrapped. The teaser, which was completed and ready to go, with a screening set forStar WarsCelebration 2015, was locked away in a vault. Though we’ll probably get aBoba Fettmovie sometime in the future, it hasn’t been announced yet. To help make up for it, a bit of long lost footage has surfaced, and it shows off Boba Fett’s first ever appearance.
While the lesser fan might thinkBoba Fettmade his debut inThe Empire Strikes Back, most hardcore Star Wars nuts know he actually showed up in the animated portion of theStar Wars Holiday Specialfirst. But guess what? That’s not the first place this infamous and iconicBounty Hunterappeared in public. Which makes the following video all the more cool.
According to the official Star Wars website, Boba Fett actually made his first ever appearance not on the big or small screen. Instead, an actor wearing the costume showed up alongside Darth Vader at a small California parade. And he still looks as cool as ever doing it. The Filmumentaries website posted footage from this parade onTwitterwith this note.
“Did you know that Boba Fett made his first appearance at the San Anselmo Parade on 24th Sept, 1978, before the Holiday Special?!”
Even though Boba Fett’s costume looks pretty screen accurate to what we saw inThe Empire Strikes Back, this is a prototype costume being put on display. The parade happened in 1978, in September of that year, a few months before Boba Fett showed up on theStar Wars Holiday Special. Duwayne Dunham is the man behind the mask, he was the assistant film editor onEmpire Strikes Backand Return of the Jedi.
Dunham was chosen to wear the costume because it fit him best out of all the employees working for LucasFilm at the time. The event was only covered by the San Anselmo press, and in a 2014, Dunham reveals that he was quite taken back because he was hit with multiple autograph requests. This, despite the character being completely unknown. He says this.
“I remember trying to shout through that mask [at Star Wars producer Gary Kurtz], ‘Is it one T or two Ts?’ And him saying, ‘I think it’s two!'”
Right away, most of the fine folks working at LucasFilm took an immediate liking to Boba Fett, and Dunham wasn’t the only one who felt a personal investment in the character. Everyone was quite disappointed to learn of the bounty hunter’s ultimate fate inReturn of the Jedi, when he gets thrown into theSarlacc Pit. He goes onto say that there was a protest at LucasFilm, telling George Lucas he couldn’t kill off Boba. But Lucas did anyway. Yet still, the character lives on in infamy. Take a look at this incredible rare footage from Boba Fett’s quaint coming out party.
