Why Cad Bane’s Fate is a Good Thing
Spoiler Warning: The Book of Boba FettDisney+ has been gifting audiences with brand-new Star Wars material ever since the streaming service debuted in 2019. With shows like The Mandalorian, Star Wars: Visions, The Bad Batch, and many more being released, it might be safe to say that Star Wars’ future could be in episodic television and not cinema. Disney appears to agree as there are only three Star Wars movies slated over the next five years. All of that being said, there is one particular Star Wars show that debuted recently that had longtime fans torn. That show was The Book of Boba Fett.
In many ways, The Book of Boba Fett scratched several itches that loyal fans of the Star Wars universe had had for decades. Unfortunately, other choices that the show decided to make had fans scratching their heads. One such choice was to kill the bounty-hunter Cad Bane. The infamous sharp-shooter is one of the most well-known and beloved characters in the Star Wars universe, regardless of the fact that he’s a merciless killer, and fans were ecstatic when he had his live-action debut in the 6th episode of The Book of Boba Fett. Sadly, the ecstasy quickly wore off when Cad met his end at the hands of Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) just one episode later, and fans were brutal with their displeasure. However, it’s actually a good thing that Cad died for several reasons.
Nobody but Boba Fett Could Have Killed Him
Boba Fett’s entire claim-to-fame in the original trilogy was that he was the most deadly bounty hunter in the galaxy. He had to be. Otherwise, why would Darth Vader have trusted him to do his bidding? In that same regard, Cad Bane’s entire claim-to-fame is the exact same premise. He’s the deadliest bounty hunter in the galaxy. Fans have gotten to fall in love with Cad Bane (voiced by Corey Burton, portrayed by Dorian Kingi) by way of Star Wars animated series, even after they’ve watched him commit heinous acts in the name of getting paid. While Boba Fett’s name carried significant weight for decades, it wasn’t until his badass fight scene in The Mandalorian that audiences ever really got to see him shine.
Therefore, it would only make logical sense that the two deadliest bounty hunters in the galaxy would one day stand toe-to-toe and see who really was the deadliest — and Boba won. By the very essence of who the two characters are, nobody else could have killed Cad Bane (even a Jedi or Sith) without it not making logical sense.
Cad Bane Would Overshadow Future Star Wars Projects
While many longtime fans might agree that Boba is the only one in the Star Wars universe who could logically kill Cad Bane, they could also argue that the show could have chosen to leave Cad alive so that he could be brought back in future projects. For a character as popular and well-known as Cad Bane, that’s a horrible idea. For the rest of Star Wars’ future, fans would complain (regardless of how good or bad the project was) if they didn’t see Cad Bane in a movie/tv show because they wouldn’t see any reason why he couldn’t.
Not to mention, if he had been left alive, all fans would want to see is a live-action series centered entirely around Cad Bane, and any future Star Wars projects would be overshadowed and glossed over until the Cad Bane series inevitably aired. Lastly, The Book of Boba Fett concluded with The Mandalorian and Grogu reuniting, flying off to who knows where. If Cad Bane had been left alive, fans would have demanded that he make an appearance when The Mandalorian returns for season 3, and his presence would have compelled audiences to root for him rather than Mando and Grogu. Unfortunately, fans did this to themselves by loving the character so much.
Cad Bane Could Still Get His Own Series
As stated, if Bane had been left alive, all audiences would have cared about would be when they’d get to see him next. With his death making fans outright livid and admitting they were hoping to see him in future projects, his untimely demise creates a perfect cloud of cover for Disney to do whatever they want with the character. After all, audiences watched him die, so now they won’t be expecting to see him appear on-screen any time soon because they watched him perish. That being said, Star Wars is known to jump around the timeline with their material and could very easily feature Bane in an upcoming series that takes place earlier on (*cough, cough – Obi-Wan series – cough, cough*).
Not only that, but with fans accepting his death and not expecting anything further, Disney could pull a huge move and surprise fans by dropping a Cad Bane live-action series out of nowhere and have the series take place earlier in his career or during the days he was learning to become a bounty hunter. In short, Disney killing Cad Bane has removed all expectations from their shoulders and has allowed them to be incredibly creative with how/when they bring his live-action version back.
