‘Star Wars’: What Happened to Boba Fett’s Mentor, Cad Bane?

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cad bane

Credit: Lucasfilm

If you’ve been watching Star Wars animated series for any length of time, you’ve undoubtedly met bounty hunter Cad Bane. First introduced in George Lucas and Dave Filoni’s Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the notorious Duros has also appeared in both Star Wars Rebels and Star Wars: The Bad Batch.

Here, we dive into Bane’s backstory — and likely future in the Star Wars franchise.

cad-bane with jedi holocron
Credit: Lucasfilm

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Cad Bane’s backstory

Bane — who is the subject of a popular figure in the Hasbro The Black Series Star Wars collection — first showed up in the Star Wars galaxy in the Clone Wars Season 1 finale episode (“Hostage Crisis”) alongside Ahsoka Tano (voiced by Ashley Eckstein). In the installment, Bane infiltrates the Senate building on Coruscant with a group of other bounty hunters. There he, arguably the most ruthless bounty hunter in the bunch, holds multiple Senators hostage, demanding Ziro the Hutt be released as ransom for their lives.

cad bane holds senators in clone wars hostage crisis
Credit: Lucasfilm

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It’s worth noting that Ziro was Jabba the Hutt’s uncle and conspired with Count Dooku to kidnap Jabba’s son, Rotta.

After his initial appearance, Bane then played a role in numerous crucial story arcs throughout both Clone Wars and Rebels. For example, his name came up again in the Clone Wars Season 2 premiere (“Holocron Heist”), when we learned that Darth Sidious/Palpatine was employing the bounty hunter to help him carry out a twisted plan called Project Harvester.

bounty hunter cad bane with ahsoka tano
Credit: Lucasfilm

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Project Harvester — which sounds like something out of Children of the Corn — involved kidnapping Force-sensitive children before they could become Jedi Padawans. Then, Palpatine saw to it that they were brainwashed under slave-like conditions, very much like the clone troopers.

Palpatine’s ultimate plan was to create an army of spies who could use the dark side of the Force to “peer into every corner of the galaxy from afar.”

cad bane and obi-wan kenobi showdown
Credit: Lucasfilm

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Then, later, Bane plotted with Count Dooku to kidnap Chancellor Sheev Palpatine in The Clone Wars Season 4, Episode 18 (“Crisis on Naboo”).

We know little about Bane’s childhood on the planet Duro. Wookieepedia describes the location as:

Duro was a temperate planet located in the Duro sector of the galaxy’s Core Worlds. It was positioned at the coordinates M-11 of the Standard Galactic Grid located along the Corellian Trade Spine.

Cad Bane’s skills and resources in the Star Wars universe

Within the Star Wars franchise, Bane is primarily known for his prowess with a blaster. The Black Series version of the Star Wars character, for instance, includes two blasters, which the Bane figure carries in hip holsters — just like the animated version of Bane.

Close up of Cad Bane with Fennec Shand in the background
Credit: Lucasfilm

He also has a droid, Todo 360, who assists him with numerous tasks and is, arguably, one of the bounty hunter’s most useful resources. The official Star Wars Databank describes the droid as:

Cad Bane’s techno-service droid, known as Todo 360 for short, has many built-in gadgets that make him incredibly useful. Always willing to do his duty, Todo is a hard worker with an attitude to match, especially if you try to call him a butler droid.

todo (left) and cad bane (right)
Credit: Lucasfilm

Bane is a cunning character and his cold-hearted demeanor makes him excellent at his job. He was the preeminent blaster-for-hire throughout the Clone Wars and gained the respect of many nefarious characters, such as the Hutts.

Cad Bane’s influence in the Clone Wars

Although he largely operated in the shadows, Bane had heavy influence over the Clone Wars due to his working relationship with major players like Count Dooku, Moralo Eval, Aurra Sing, and even Darth Sidious himself. Per Wookieepedia:

…[Bane] earned a reputation as the galaxy’s best, deadliest, and most fearsome mercenary during the Clone Wars. Though he worked for a number of clients, his loyalty was ultimately to credits—and by extension, the highest bidder. Bane employed a variety of weapons and allies to ensure that he always got his pay, and he became the leader in his line of work after fellow bounty hunter Jango Fett perished in the opening battle of the war.

cad bane with aurra sing and ohnaka gang member
Credit: Lucasfilm

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What happened to Cad Bane after the Clone Wars?

Until fairly recently in the Star Wars story, we didn’t know what happened to Cad Bane following the Clone Wars — but, he has now become a major character in Dave Filoni’s Star Wars: The Bad Batch, a Clone Wars spinoff that takes place immediately after the execution of Emperor Palpatine’s Order 66.

omega (left) and cad bane (right) in the bad batch episode 9
Credit: Lucasfilm

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In the series, Bane was hired to retrieve Jango Fett’s first generation clone, Omega — a female — from Clone Force 99 (Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, and Echo) after they left Kamino and went on the run.

The Disney Fandom Wiki sums up what has happened with Bane in The Bad Batch to date:

At the beginning of the Imperial era, Cad Bane is hired by Lama Su to recover the young girl Omega, a particular clone. Arrived on Bracca, he single-handedly slaughters several clone troopers before confronting Omega and the clone deserter Hunter. At a dead end, the two opponents take out their blasters but Bane shoots faster, injuring Hunter. Omega tries to resist only for Bane to knock her down with a paralyzing beam and then takes her away.

Escaping from Bracca, Bane greets the captured Omega in a cell aboard his ship. When Omega is persistent the Bad Batch will rescue her, Bane claims that her friends are long gone and that nobody is coming, warning her to sit tight and not cause any trouble. Bane then contacts Lama Su and informs he managed to capture Omega where he is then ordered to keep the girl alive and meet his Kaminoan advisor, Taun We on the planet Bora Vio to receive his credits.

boba fett and cad bane duel
Credit: Lucasfilm

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It certainly seems as if we are headed toward the long-awaited duel between Boba Fett and Cad Bane and in The Bad Batch. This showdown was famously cut from The Clone Wars after being teased at Star Wars Celebration.

This also opens the door for Bane to appear in live-action in the Star Wars galaxy, perhaps as early as The Book of Boba Fett this December. The Book of Boba Fett — starring Temuera Morrison as Boba Fett and Ming-Na Wen as Fennec Shand — is the first The Mandalorian spinoff series, and many expect cameo appearances by characters like Bane, Bossk, and even iconic Millennium Falcon pilot Han Solo.

Fennec Shand (left) and Boba Fett sat on Jabba's throne (right)
Credit: Lucasfilm

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The official Star Wars Databank describes bounty hunting master, Cad Bane, as:

A ruthless bounty hunter from the planet Duro, Cad Bane was the preeminent blaster-for-hire in the galaxy at the time of the Clone Wars and after the conflict ended. Using an impressive arsenal of weapons and allies, the cold, cruel, and calculating Bane would literally track his prey to the ends of the galaxy if required. Bane carried custom twin blaster pistols, gauntlets studded with control devices, a concealed bola, explosives, integrated breathing apparatus, and rocket boots, ensuring that he was always well prepared for any situation that may arise.

cad bane bad batch episode 8
Credit: Lucasfilm

Are you looking forward to seeing more of bounty hunter Cad Bane?

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