Facts About Bossk Only Die Hard 'Star Wars' Fans Will Know
"Bounty hunters! We don't need their scum!"
-Admiral Piett (The Empire Strikes Back)
Bossk, the infamous Trandoshan bounty hunter, was first introduced in The Empire Strikes Back. He was part of a group of bounty hunters summoned by Darth Vader and welcomed aboard his Star Destroyer as part of his efforts to locate and capture the Millennium Falcon, which had, to that point, been eluding the Empire. Although it was not clear what he said, he clearly was quite displeased with Admiral Piett's unrestrained disgust about having bounty hunters aboard his ship. Since his initial appearance in The Empire Strikes Back, Bossk, like many of the other bounty hunters, has become a cult favorite of Star Wars fans. This article will discuss some of the things that die hard Star Wars fans know (or should know) about this reptilian bounty hunter. This article will focus exclusively on canon.
Background
Bossk's full name is Bossk'wassak'Cradossk. He is of the reptilian Trandoshan species from the planet Trandosha. Trandoshans are primarily hunters, making him an ideal bounty hunter. He especially liked to hunt and kill Wookiees, making him quite feared among them with his deadly hand-to-hand combat skills and weapons. Even the mighty Wookiee Chewbacca, who had some encounters with Bossk, took notice of him. Although Bossk himself did not appear in them, Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano, along with some Wookiees, was once captured by Trandoshans and hunted by them in a two-part season 3 arc of The Clone Wars. Bossk has his own ship, a YV-666 called the Hound's Tooth, which serves as his transport and base of operations.
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Outfit
Bossk's outfit as seen in The Empire Strikes Back is a reuse of an outfit better known as a "High Altitude Windak Suit" seen on a 1966 episode of Doctor Who and regularly used by Royal Air Force Pilots during the same time period. This outfit was also seen on various other characters in A New Hope (the pilot that introduces Obi-Wan to Chewbacca in the Cantina) and in Return of the Jedi, mostly A-Wing pilots.
Live-Action Actor
The actor who portrayed Bossk in The Empire Strikes Back, Alan Harris, also appeared in several other background roles throughout the original trilogy, including stormtroopers, various Rebels, and, most notably, as the carbonite mold for Han Solo. He also appeared as a stand-in for Chancellor Valorum in The Phantom Menace.
Appearances
As noted above, Bossk's first appearance in release order was in The Empire Strikes Back. Bossk has also appeared in The Clone Wars series, where he appeared alongside several notable bounty hunters such as Boba Fett, Aurra Sing, and Cad Bane. In season 2 of The Clone Wars, he joins Boba Fett and Aurra Sing in a plot for Boba to get revenge against Mace Windu for killing his father, Jango, in Attack of the Clones. He and Boba are ultimately apprehended after their plot fails, and he spends time in a Republic prison. In a season 4 episode, he helps create a distraction in order to facilitate a jailbreak. He was originally set to reappear in later episodes of The Clone Wars, but did not due to the show's cancellation.
He doesn't always necessarily work for the bad guys. He worked briefly with Ezra Bridger against a corrupt Imperial official in a Star Wars Rebels tie-in book called Ezra's Gamble. His character has appeared in other content, such as comics and video games (Battlefront II). He is rumored to be appearing in the upcoming Disney+ series The Book of Boba Fett and could theoretically show up on The Mandalorian, as well, given that The Book of Boba Fett will take place around the same time, Din, being a bounty hunter himself, travels in similar circles, and other Trandoshans have previously appeared on the series.
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Source(s): Screen Rant, Wookieepedia