Star Wars: What If…Mace Windu Did Not Kill Jango Fett
While Boba Fett had become a fan favorite character in the Star Wars original trilogy, Lucas decided to flesh out his backstory some when it came to the prequel trilogy. In Attack of the Clones, we learned that Boba was actually an unaltered eight-year old clone of his “father,” Jango Fett, a bounty hunter who had also become the genetic template for the clone army created by the Kaminoans. When Obi-Wan arrived at Kamino to investigate the assassination attempts on Senator Padme Amidala, he met Jango and Boba. Obi-Wan recognized Jango as a likely suspect in the assassination attempts and tried to detain him. However, Jango and Boba fled Kamino for Geonosis. When battle broke out between the Jedi and the Separatists, Jango got involved as well. Unfortunately, Jango lost his life (and head) to Mace Windu during the battle, leaving Boba orphaned and seeking revenge against the Jedi who killed his father.
We got to see some Boba's further development in The Clone Wars animated series, chiefly when he joined up with other bounty hunters, and attempted to get his revenge against Mace. It is likely that his character will be fleshed out in The Book of Boba Fett now streaming on Disney+. However, what if Mace had not killed Jango? How might things have played out differently? Here are some thoughts:
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Live Men May Tell Tales
If Mace had not killed Jango, but rather captured him for the Republic, it is likely that Jango would have been imprisoned and put on trial for his assassination attempts on Senator Amidala. The Jedi Order, or maybe even Obi-Wan himself, would have likely continued the investigation, and eventually succeeded in learning more about Jango's connections to Dooku and the Sith involvement in the creation of the Clone Army. Any information provided by Jango to the Jedi Order could have helped point them in the direction of Palpatine and his personal involvement in fomenting the Clone Wars much earlier. This would definitely threaten Palpatine’s long-term goals. Of course, with Palpatine still in control of the Republic at that time, it is questionable how long Jango might have survived in Republic custody before being eliminated by one of Palpatine's agents. Jango might have suffered the same fate as Fives when he was attempting to warn the Jedi Order about the inhibitor chips in the clones.
On The Lam
If Mace had not killed Jango, and he and Boba escaped Geonosis together, they might have gone on the run together. After all, it is a big galaxy and they might have been able to just fade away into obscurity, possibly surviving into the original trilogy era (or beyond). However, I am not sure that just running off and disappearing would be in the character of a Mandalorian warrior like Jango (and probably not the example he would want to set for Boba). Jango might continue to serve Dooku's Separatists, surely leading to more confrontations with the Jedi during the Clone Wars and possibly have an impact on certain events in the Clone Wars. He may still die, of course, albeit at a different point in the war.
Death Wish
If Mace had not killed Jango, it is possible that he would have returned to Concordia and (re-)join the Death Watch, the Mandalorian terrorist group that was attempting to dethrone the New Mandalorian pacifist government. Through their alliance with former Sith Darth Maul and his associates in the criminal underworld, Death Watch was ultimately successful in that goal. Assuming Jango ends up joining Death Watch, is it possible that he would have successfully challenged Maul, unlike Pre Vizla, and claimed the Darksaber, thus becoming the ruler of Mandalore instead of Maul or Bo-Katan. This raises other questions. If Jango had taken control of Mandalore instead of Maul, would Ashoka have been asked to lead Republic forces against him, like she did against Maul, given that Jango wasn't a renegade Sith Lord? Would Bo-Katan have accepted Jango as the leader of Mandalore?
Raising Boba
If Jango had lived, how would that have possibly affected Boba's development and upbringing? With The Book of Boba Fett now airing, we may finally get to understand more about his character and how Jango influenced him while he was still alive. From the opening flashback scene of him holding his father's empty helmet in the Geonosian arena, as well as his later attempt to get revenge against Mace Windu, it is clear that Jango was an important part of his upbringing. However, since he lost Jango at such an early age, it is unclear how things might have turned out differently for Boba in terms of his development had Jango been there with him longer.
Any other thoughts or ideas about how things might have turned out differently if Jango had lived past the events of Attack of The Clones?
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