There’s a disturbance in the Force today. It was announced that the original actor under the helmet of Boba Fett, Jeremy Bulloch, who portrayed the fan-favorite Star Wars character in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, died at the age of 75. The British actor is an unsung hero of the franchise who is being honored today by stars from all corners of the galaxy.
In his short time as Boba Fett, Jeremy Bulloch got to play among the greats of the universe, all of which continue to be important to the legacy of the space opera franchise. First off, the Star Wars account made the announcement official with this:
Boba Fett was nowhere near as complex and fleshed out at the time of his performance, but his role in the films is always one Star Wars fans watch out for and lovingly remember. Mark Hamill, who fought the bounty hunter to the death as Luke Skywalker in an iconic moment in Return of the Jedi, wrote this on Twitter following the news:
It’s a sweet tribute to a colleague that Mark Hamill seems to have fond memories of during their time on set of the George Lucas films nearly 40 years ago. The series’ Lando Calrissian also worked closely with Jeremy Bulloch for the original Skywalker Saga films. Billy Dee Williams wrote this:
Billy Dee Williams recently returned to his iconic role for The Rise of Skywalker and for a voice role in the Disney+ movie The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special, among other actors from the live-action cast. He lovingly referred to Jeremy Bulloch as “the best bounty hunter in the galaxy.” Joonas Suotamo, who played Chewbacca in four of the most recent Star Wars films, shared his personal experience with Jeremy Bulloch.
Even though the actor was later replaced by Temuera Morrison as Boba Fett, who recently returned for The Mandalorian to bring to light more details about Jango and Boba, Jeremy Bulloch was still an active part of the Star Wars family by way of conventions. Today, many fans have been sharing their moments with the actor at these fan events. And Suotamo also got to share some moments with him at cons, which were all really friendly. His brief co-star Greg Grunberg, who played Snap Wexley in the Sequel Trilogy, also jumped in with this:
As the Star Wars family has continued to grow, there are more voices to feel the power of the franchise and pay tribute to those before them. Ming-Na Wen, who's been appearing on The Mandalorian as Fennec Shand, also took to Twitter to offer her reaction to the news:
The news comes less than a month after Darth Vader actor, David Prowse, who physically played the villain, died at 85 years old as well. We here at CinemaBlend send our deep condolences and sympathies to Jeremy Bulloch’s family, loved ones and the Star Wars fans.
