The bounty hunter flicks his toothpick to the ground as his other hand strays to the blaster to his side. Red eyes glare under a wide-brimmed hat, showing no uncertainty or hesitation. If Cad Bane has you in his sights, you’re about to be in a galaxy of trouble.

“We knew that this guy was going to be a very intense fighter, a very intense gunslinger, a very serious threat,” said Dave Filoni in 2009. “Cad Bane works for the highest bidder. I think he enjoys what he does.”

If you enjoyed Bane’s intimidating presence and blaster-slinging in The Book of Boba Fett, here are 9 essential episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: The Bad Batch (in chronological order) featuring the mercenary in action, all streaming now

Sara Thacher’s nephew was excited to help the First Order.

During a test voyage of Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser earlier this year, the 11 year old Star Wars fan set out to side with the antagonists, due in part to their cool costume appeal. Then he met some of the heroes of the Resistance. “And [suddenly] he’s having a real moral conflict,” says Thacher, experience designer for Walt Disney Imagineering Research and Development. The two sat in their well-appointed cabin aboard the Halcyon starcruiser to talk it out — a surprise for Thacher, to be sure, but a welcome one. “We had this wonderful moment of talking about morality and ‘how do you want to play?’” she says, a discovery that left Thacher in awe. Another colleague witnessed two young passengers so

Very few groups in the galaxy can intimidate a Jedi just with the utterance of their name — and the Pykes are one of them. The syndicate made the leap from Star Wars: The Clone Wars to the big screen in Solo: A Star Wars Story, and they haven’t stopped looking for their next profitable opportunity since.

Let’s meet the underworld gang that’s crossed paths — and weapons — with Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Boba Fett.

Behind the Scenes

Like most things in Star Wars, the Pyke Syndicate has an extraordinary origin story. Their creation began in 2007 with a sketch by concept artist David Hobbins.

“George Lucas plucked the design out of dozens (this one, in particular, a design for an alien

Crimson Dawn’s efforts against the Empire will soon reach their apex.

In StarWars.com’s exclusive first look at Marvel’s Star Wars: Darth Vader #21, Sabé, former handmaiden to Padmé Amidala and secret Crimson Dawn operative, confronts Ochi of Bestoon and Sub-administrator Moore — also agents of the criminal organization. She reveals the next phase in her plan against the Empire, but Darth Vader might just be one step ahead of them…

And in StarWars.com’s preview of Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #19, trouble brews — as it always does with the starring rogue archaeologist – when foe/friend Kho Phon Farrus seeks an ancient artifact that’s on Aphra and Sana’s checklist.

Darth Vader #21, written by Greg Pak and illustrated by Raffaele Ienco, with a cover by Paul Renaud, is available for pre-order now on

Marvel’s Star Wars: Han Solo & Chewbacca dials back the clock to pre-Star Wars: A New Hope, well before our favorite smuggler and walking carpet became rebel heroes. Issue #4 finds the titular duo in an early encounter with the deadly Wookiee mercenary Krrsantan, who recently had a major role in The Book of Boba Fett. You can learn more about the series in StarWars.com’s interview with writer Marc Guggenheim, and get a first look below at Han Solo & Chewbacca #4 and other Marvel Star Wars titles coming in June 2022 — including covers and official plot synopses. Let out a Wookiee roar and check ‘em out.

STAR WARS: THE MANDALORIAN #1

RODNEY BARNES (W) • GEORGES JEANTY (A) • Cover by ADI GRANOV
Action Figure Variant Cover by

You know that laugh.

Decades before computer technology would enable filmmakers to render incredible creatures and aliens in photorealistic detail, a much more nuts-and-bolts approach was the order of the day. Beneath the 2,000 pounds of latex, wires, fiberglass, and gaffer tape that were required to make Jabba the Hutt a living, breathing, drooling screen presence in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, there were three talented performers who spent many hours twisting themselves into impossible angles in the cramped, sweaty guts of the crime lord.

In an exclusive excerpt from Star Wars Insider #209, writer Brandon Wainerdi sits down with Toby Philpott, who operated Jabba’s left arm and head, along with his slimy tongue; chief puppeteer David Barclay, who operated Jabba’s right arm and jaw, relaying the Hutt’s dialogue in

It’s easy to see why Ouannii, the Rodian Lumosynth player performing live music aboard the Halcyon starcruiser, and star Twi’lek songstress Gaya have already generated a following. Although the experience just launched this month, voyagers have already been seen wearing Ouannii bounds — ensembles inspired by the color palette and style of the character. And on one test cruise, a passenger donned a Gaya T-shirt, complete with dates from a fictional planet-hopping tour, to show their love for the musician, says Wendy Anderson, executive creative director for Disney Live Entertainment.

The duo bring to mind elements that are quintessentially Star Wars, evoking a more polished and posh version of Mos Eisley’s cantina, teeming with galactic tunes and brimming with otherworldly aliens. And for the first time, they don’t just pass

It almost didn’t happen. Graham Hoete, a.k.a. multi-disciplinary Māori artist Mr G, had shifted his schedule to work on a dream commission: a wooden carving of Boba Fett’s iconic helmet. He crunched and finished the piece on time, always with the goal of presenting it to Temuera Morrison — the Māori actor, and one of Hoete’s greatest heroes, who plays the beloved bounty hunter in The Book of Boba Fett. But due to COVID-19 and the safety challenges it created, the exchange had been delayed several times. Yet there he was in Rotorua, Morrison’s hometown in New Zealand, gifting his art to the man behind the armor.

“It was a beautiful moment,” Hoete tells StarWars.com over Zoom. “It was a bit of an epic life moment for myself.”

When