Boba Fett Fan Theories Existed Before Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Even Hit Theaters

It's a running joke in (and out) of the "Star Wars" fandom that every character, no matter how small their role, has at least a few viewers who are obsessed with them. This type of character is often called a "Glup Shitto." It's based on a viral tweet from September 2020 that lightheartedly made fun of fans for getting attached to minor characters no one else knows or cares about. Arguably, the first-ever example of this was Boba Fett, a character introduced in an animated short in the 1978 made-for-TV movie "Star Wars Holiday Special."

The special was an infamous disaster, never replayed on TV and rarely spoken of today. Even still, the little glimpse of Boba Fett it offered still excited some of the more hardcore fans. They wanted to know what was going on with Fett behind that mask. 

In the buildup to "The Empire Strikes Back" in 1980, we had the first true example of fans doing the "Glup Shitto" meme in real life, excitedly speculating over the role this little-known character would play in the trilogy going forward. Capturing that fandom excitement over Fett was a 1980 article from Starlog Magazine, which hyped up his expanded role in the new film: 

"When it comes to bounty hunting, Boba Fett takes the prize. Fett ... is a relative newcomer to the world of sandcruisers and stormtroopers. Among the gadgetry he wears are a jet pack, laser rifle, flame thrower and knee darts. Wookie scalps dangle from Fett's utility belt. Though his uniform is a modified version of the virtually extinct Imperial Shocktroopers, it is uncertain whether he is a shocktroop survivor of the Clone Wars or not. Among those that can afford Fett's services are Darth Vader and Jabba the Hutt."

Even today, some "Star Wars" fans are a little baffled by the undying love for Boba Fett. When he appeared in the live-action "Empire Strikes Back," he was cool, but he was also only on screen for about six minutes and was rarely the main focus. Three years later, Fett returned for the final movie in the trilogy, only to be quickly killed off in a rather undignified way, being eaten alive by a giant sand squid. Or so it seemed.

Boba remained a fan favorite, so much so that the prequels gave him his tortured backstory, and Disney gave him his own TV show. In 2021, his show "The Book of Boba Fett" premiered, but fans and critics generally hated it. It almost seemed like the common talking point used against Boba Fett fans — that he's not a deep character, that he's only good in small doses — was correct after all. 

But that talking point is undermined by the existence of "The Clone Wars," a late-2000s TV series in which young Boba enjoys a compelling 2-season arc, transforming from a heartbroken orphan to the hardened bounty hunter fans know and love today. It turns out that Boba Fett didn't need his own show to get a compelling story; his arc in "The Clone Wars" did him justice all on its own.