*** Be warned that MINOR SPOILERS ARE AHEAD, so if you haven’t watched the most recent episode of The Mandalorian, proceed with caution. ***
The Mandalorian season two has wrapped up, and the final episode of the season contained a post-credits scene that teased an upcoming project: The Book of Boba Fett, coming December 2021!
It’s quite the return for Fett, who was presumed dead when he fell into the sarlacc pit in Return of the Jedi but was brought back this season on The Mandalorian. What was once thought to be a cameo turned into a major role in the final episodes of the season, and now it seems that he will be getting his own spinoff series. But the post-credits scene also revealed that another character from the Jabba’s Palace sequence in Return of the Jedi actually survived the events at the Great Pit of Carkoon: Bib Fortuna!
Fortuna was Jabba the Hutt’s right hand man, running Jabba’s operations at the Palace on Tatooine. He appeared in The Phantom Menace by Jabba’s side, watching a podrace that was eventually won by Anakin Skywalker. Many years later, Fortuna was still serving Jabba when the son of Anakin, Luke, arrived with his strike team trying to rescue Han Solo. Luke killed Jabba’s rancor, which so angered the Hutt that he ordered the heroes taken to the Great Pit of Carkoon and fed to the mighty sarlacc. But Skywalker’s heroics proved too much and Jabba’s forces were defeated – including Boba Fett, who was eaten by the sarlacc. Luke and his sister, Leia Organa, then blew up Jabba’s Sail Barge before leaving.
It was assumed that Fortuna was killed in the explosion, since he was present on the Sail Barge, but now we have confirmation otherwise. And this too is something that happened in Legends, though it was far less prevalent (and far wierder) than Fett’s survival. Anyway, Fortuna apparently assumed control of Jabba’s operations and amassed guards and slaves around him as he ruled.
So The Mandalorian not only officially confirmed that Boba Fett survived the events at the Great Pit of Carkoon, but so too did Bib Fortuna! He is once again played here by Matthew Wood, who played the character in The Phantom Menace. His survival, though, was short-lived. Because as Fett arrives at Jabba’s Palace, accompanied by Fennec Shand, Fett approaches Fortuna on the throne and shoots him, killing him. Fett then ascends to the throne himself.
But nonetheless it’s still interesting to see another figure from the original trilogy survive past that era, and it does mean that there are stories to be told about Bib Fortuna in the years following Jabba’s death, should anyone choose to do so.
And the other lesson is that whenever a character says “Maclunkey,” it’s probably going to be followed by their death soon after.
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