Every Creature In The Book Of Boba Fett Chapter 1 Explained
Warning: This article contains spoilers for "The Book of Boba Fett"
The first episode of the long-awaited "Star Wars" spin-off series "The Book of Boba Fett" is finally among us. As expected, the Robert Rodriguez-directed, Jon Favreau-written first installment has got the goods. Like with "The Mandalorian," Disney and Lucasfilm are using their unbridled resources in service of an immersive, lived-in, highly nostalgic rendition of the "Star Wars" universe circa the events of the original trilogy.
Naturally, the production's commitment to nailing the formula of a fan-approved "Star Wars" adventure includes filling every step of Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) and Fennec Shand's (the great Ming-Na Wen) trek through the Tatooine sands with creatures and droids from all corners of the galaxy, adding mightily to the show's sense of authentic world-building. We have rummaged carefully through Chapter 1, "Stranger in a Strange Land," and all in all, between reptilians, virtuoso ice-dwellers, and ambiguous sentients, we have counted a total of eight creatures and one droid line that may be worthy of a mention.
So, let's go ahead and look at all of the creatures featured in "The Book of Boba Fett" so far, while going a bit further in-depth into their place in the "Star Wars" mythology.
The classic Jawas make an appearance
At the beginning of the first episode, when Boba Fett crawls out of the Great Pit of Carkoon and onto the open sands of Tatooine's Dune Sea, a group of short, hooded creatures surround him and take away his armor and jetpack.
Any fan of "Star Wars" will recognize the little rascals as the Jawas, the Tatooine-native humanoids with a habit of scavenging the dunes and stripping any droids they find for parts. Ever the entrepreneurs, Jawas then sell those parts to the planet's local moisture farmers, who badly need it for their (literally) arid trade — and if a piece of equipment comes faulty or incomplete, well, that's on the buyer's lack of cautiousness.
Jawas can be seen repeatedly throughout the "Star Wars" universe in multiple capacities, but no media has ever revealed what they look like under those hoods. It seems like "The Book of Boba Fett" won't be the show to change that, at least not for now.
Trandoshans and Rodians featured in Boba Fett's first outing
Two humanoids hailing from reptilian species cross Boba Fett's path in "Stranger in a Strange Land." The first is Dokk Strassi (voiced by Robert Rodriguez), the leader of Tatooine's Trandoshan family, who welcomes Fett to Mos Espa as a new daimyo. Trandoshans, also known as T'doshok, originally hail from the planet Trandosha and are one of the galaxy's most hunting-prone species, which explains their prevalence among the ranks of bounty hunters. They also have an amazing ability to heal and regenerate limbs, which makes them quite resilient fighters.
Rodians, meanwhile, will also be familiar to anyone with even a passing familiarity to "Star Wars" lore, thanks to the infamous bounty hunter Greedo (Paul Blake/Larry Ward) — you know, the one who gets shot down by Han Solo (Harrison Ford) as he's reaching for his gun at the Mos Eisley Cantina in "Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope." Unlike Greedo, the Rodian in this "Book of Boba Fett" episode is not green but red of skin, and his role in the story is decidedly more sympathetic. Played by Dawn Dininger, he's the fellow prisoner who's held captive by the Tusken Raiders along with Fett and then awkwardly teams up with him to escape.
Fans spotted Tusken Raiders and smelter droids
Speaking of Tusken Raiders, viewers of this episode already get a taste of their hostility to outside settlers in their native Tatooine, as explained by Wookiepedia. These nomadic locals, whose precise species is unknown, have managed to survive in the harsh desert by becoming indurated warriors. Their total mistrust of anyone they feel might be encroaching on their resources explains why they decide to take Boba Fett as prisoner in Chapter 1. Therefore, you can imagine how much it means that he eventually manages to earn their respect.
Another creature shaped by his circumstances is 8D8 (Matt Berry), the droid who appears in Jabba the Hutt's former throne room and introduces Fett to Dokk Strassi. Originally an ore-extracting smelter droid from the Roche Hive 8D series, he is at one point lobotomized to serve as the assistant enforcer in Jabba's droid torture chambers — he's the one you can see whipping droids into shape in "Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi." 8D8 then gets deactivated following Jabba's demise, and stays that way until Fett claims him as his new master.
Twi'leks and Gamorreans showed up in The Book of Boba Fett
Sometimes referred to as Rylothians due to being native to the Outer Rim planet of Ryloth, Twi'leks are a highly common species that appear everywhere throughout the galaxy. You'd be hard-pressed to think of a "Star Wars" property that doesn't have a Twi'lek at least hanging in the background. Per Wookiepedia, they also endure a stigma associated with their frequent use as slaves, which might explain why Boba Fett seems a bit bemused to find that the owner of the Sanctuary cantina, Madam Garsa Fwip (Jennifer Beals), turns out to be a Twi'lek much like her servants in "The Book of Boba Fett."
Another species also hailing from the Outer Rim region of the galaxy is the Gamorrean, from planet Gamorr. They organize themselves into clan-based societies and are often hired as guards due to their strength and physically intimidating appearance. Gamorreans figure prominently into "Stranger in a Strange Land," as two of them, formerly the henchmen of ill-fated would-be crime lord Bib Fortuna (Michael Carter/Matthew Wood), are spared from death and torture by Fett in exchange for their service as bodyguards.
The familiar Ortolans and Bith appeared in Chapter 1
The ice-bound Ortolans are among the most visually unique and oddly charismatic creatures in the "Star Wars" universe, which might explain the decision to include a cameo by one of them in the "Book of Boba Fett" premiere. It's not just any one of them either — we're talking about Max Rebo, the most celebrated red ball jett organ player in the galaxy. Befitting his kind's proclivity for music as a result of their articulated digits, Max is seen once again playing his organ like there's no tomorrow as Boba Fett and Fennec Shand enter the Sanctuary.
Right next to him is an unnamed Bith musician, playing a six-string viol. The Bith, native to the eponymous planet, are also wont to work as musicians due to their high intelligence and highly sensitive hearing. It is unclear, just based on the Sanctuary band's short appearance, if this Bith is the same one who previously plays as part of the Max Rebo Band, Barquin D'an (Don Bies). When the band is seen playing for Jabba in "Return of the Jedi," Barquin is playing the kloo horn, which requires a whole different set of skills from a viol — but then again, who's to say he's not some kind of Bith Paul McCartney?