New Novel Explains Why Boba Fett Helped Jabba in the 'Star Wars' Special Edition

Fans first met bounty hunter Boba Fett in animated form, thanks to his appearance in The Star Wars Holiday Special. Far more memorable were his appearances in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, causing audiences to want to learn as much about the helmeted mercenary as possible. While many fans might think George Lucas arbitrarily chose to insert the bounty hunter in the 1997 special edition of Star Wars, a new book explains why he was on Tatooine and how he ended up confronting Han and Chewbacca in Docking Bay 94.

"Boba is stopping over on Tatooine when he's called on by his old associate Jabba the Hutt to help collect a debt," writer Paul Dini explained to USA Today. "Naturally, this is the money owed to Jabba by Han Solo. The story is a monologue going through Fett's head while he backs up Jabba and stares down Han and Chewie."

The story depicting these events, "Added Muscle," appears in the anthology book Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View. The book collects 40 different stories spanning various points in time in the Star Wars saga to explore perspectives of characters who we didn't get to see as much of in the films.

In the mid-'90s, George Lucas revisited his original films to give them the most up-to-date effects possible, allowing audiences to enjoy the films with the highest quality video and sound. During the upgrade, Lucas also added sequences in hopes of expanding the world further than the original films.

In a scene deleted from the original movie, Jabba confronts Han and Chewbacca before the duo embarked for Alderaan. As Lucas didn't yet know how Jabba would look further down the line, the role was portrayed by a large man. Seeing as it wouldn't make sense to release the scene in its original condition, given Jabba's appearance in Return of the Jedi, Lucas used the CGI advancements to incorporate Jabba and gave fans an additional scene.

Additionally, Lucas also inserted a shot of Boba Fett, adding more history to the bounty hunter's connection with the smugglers.

If you'd like to read an excerpt from this store, you can head over to USA Today.

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Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View hits shelves October 3. Currently, it is available to pre-order for up to 31% off.