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Solo Writer Reveals Bounty Hunter Bossk's Original Role
Solo: A Star Wars Story co-writer Jonathan Kasdan reveals his original idea to incorporate the bounty hunter Bossk into the narrative. Though the spinoff continued the franchise tradition of introducing new characters to the canon, it of course featured plenty of familiar faces. Outside of the obvious, Solo also included a surprise cameo for the one and only Darth Maul and made some clear allusions to Jabba the Hutt via dialogue. Given the film's criminal underworld setting, rumors persisted some bounty hunters would show up at some point, though the famous ones were never seen onscreen.
Still, there were references. Early on in Solo as Beckett organizes the Conveyex heist, Val questions why they're bringing Han and Chewbacca along for the ride when they could call a proper mercenary like Bossk. That's a nod to The Empire Strikes Back, where the Trandoshan was one of many bounty hunters Darth Vader hired to find the Millennium Falcon. Prior to Solo's release, Kasdan said Bossk would be a must if Solo ever got a sequel, and he tried to get the character a role in Ron Howard's film.
On Twitter, Kasdan shared a long list of various behind-the-scenes trivia on Solo, and one of the items discussed the one-time plan for Bossk, who would have been a member of Enfys Nest's Cloud-Riders.
Quote:
"In many drafts of the script Enfys' #2 was the mercenary Bossk who abandoned her at the end of the movie, as he is truly a soldier of the future. This was another thing I fought long and hard to keep but was ultimately overruled."
It's worth mentioning Bossk isn't averse to aiding the Rebels. He once joined forces with Ezra Bridger to take down a corrupt Imperial officer. Still, this would have been a strange retcon considering the nature of the Cloud-Riders. At the end of the film, they're revealed to be a proto-Rebellion cell, fighting hard to stop the spread of tyranny across the galaxy. Solo's novelization even includes a scene where Enfys conducts business with Saw Gerrera and a young Jyn Erso, illustrating her commitment to the cause. Bossk was always one who liked to play both sides; despite his brief partnership with Ezra, Bossk would accept work from the Empire as well. As fun as it would have been to see Bossk onscreen, it'd have been odd if he was a freedom fighter years before being summoned by Vader. It's true Kasdan had Bossk abandon Enfys, but that'd still be head-scratching.
That Kasdan was "overruled" is likely for the best. As it stands, the Bossk Easter egg is a cool bit for longtime fans, serving as a piece of universe building to let viewers know these bounty hunters are out there. Unless there's a natural fit for a legacy character in one of the new films, there's no need to force it simply because the creatives like someone. Some of the previous Disney era Star Wars films have been guilty of this kind of empty fan service (R2-D2 and C-3PO's cameo in Rogue One, for instance), so it's nice to see Lucasfilm nixed this. Maybe one day Bossk will return.
- Star Wars 9 / Star Wars: Episode IX (2019) release date: Dec 20, 2019
