He’s no good to me dead! In a brief post-credits scene for the seventh, and final episode of The Book of Boba Fett, it looks like one of Boba Fett’s old allies has returned. And, if you missed this callback, here’s exactly what was going on and what it means for the future of Tatooine. Spoilers ahead for The Book of Boba Fett, Chapter 7, “In the Name of Honor.”
In the previous episode of The Book of Boba Fett, the Marshall of Freetown, Cobb Vanth (Timothy Olyphant), was blasted by old-school bounty hunter Cad Bane. Now, the reasons Vanth went down relatively easily are twofold: Cad Bane is a notoriously good shot, and after the events of The Mandalorian Season 2, Vanth no longer rocks that armor he got from Boba Fett.
But, following Vanth getting blasted in Episode 6, everyone was left wondering: is Cobb Vanth dead?
The Boba Fett finale waits until the last possible moment to answer this question. After the traditional credits roll, we get a brief, wordless post-credits scene that reveals what’s up with Cobb Vanth.
Boba Fett post: credits explained: Cobb Vanth is alive
As Boba Fett and Fennec Shand walk through the streets of Mos Espa, Shand suggests that Fett go use his Bacta Tank to recuperate. Fett tells her he can’t because the tank is “being used.” Because earlier in the episode Fett mentioned that Krrsantan could take a turn in the tank, it’s easy to think that’s who was in there. But it wasn’t. Instead, we see Cobb Vanth.
Thundercat: The return of the Mod Artist
Standing over Cobb Vanth is the Mod Artist, once again played by Stephen “Thundercat” Bruner. In case you forgot, Bruner appeared in Episode 4 of The Book of Boba Fett as the guy running the cybernetic modification parlor where Fett brought Fennec Shand. The Mod Artist saved Shand’s life by modifying her, permanently. And now, it looks like he's going to do the same thing to Cobb Vanth.
This all suggests that the next time we see Cobb Vanth — either in The Mandalorian Season 3 or in another Star Wars series — he’ll be some kind of cyborg. In “The Streets of Mos Espa,” The Book of Boba Fett introduced us to a biker gang of young “Mods” who all voluntarily had cybernetic enhancements. Unlike Darth Vader or Fennec Shand, these Mods didn’t get new prostheses because of an accident, but, in theory, because they wanted to be this way. This storyline did a little bit of work in pushing back against some of the ableist prejudices in Star Wars. But, as pointed out by actress Angel Giuffria (and others), the actors who play the Mods in the series are non-disabled, which ends up as a mixed message for representation.
Book of Boba Fett Season 2?
The appearance of Cobb Vanth at the end of the Boba Fett finale could suggest that we’re getting a second season of the series. Vanth is the Marshall of “Freetown,” which is on Tatooine. Other than Obi-Wan Kenobi — which happens in a totally different time period — no other current Star Wars shows are as rooted in Tatooine activity as The Book of Boba Fett.
So if a post-credits scene is bothering to show us that Cobb Vanth is alive, and now cybernetically modified, does that mean Book of Boba Fett Season 2 is coming?
As of now, Lucasfilm has not made it clear if this is the end for the Fett show. But as the various cameos on this series proved, the Star Wars galaxy is big enough for characters to show up on another show, at any time. So while we may not see the newly-modified Cobb Vanth in a hypothetical second season of Boba Fett, he could show up in The Mandalorian Season 3, or even the forthcoming series Ahsoka.
