A 'Star Wars' Mystery No One Was Asking To Be Solved Has Been Solved

Have you watched the original Star Wars trilogy and wondered why Darth Vader points at Boba Fett and insists that the bounty hunter doesn't disintegrate the occupants of the Millennium Falcon? Me neither! I always just thought it was a cool little reference that made Fett seem more notorious and stand out from his contemporaries, but since we're in the midst of a full-on Star Wars renaissance with new movies, books, comics, and more coming out regularly, it was only a matter of time until that little line of dialogue was fleshed out and explained.

The anthology book Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View hit shelves today, and it features 40 short stories from the perspectives of various characters involved in A New Hope to celebrate that film's 40th anniversary (which is a terrific concept, really). One of the short stories centers on Boba Fett, a sterling example of a character's cool design overshadowing everything else about him and making him an enduring icon even though he barely functions as a character. George Lucas even added Fett into the special edition re-release of A New Hope:

So that tiny appearance is why Fett gets a chapter in this New Hope-centric story. But the moment in question comes in The Empire Strikes Back, as you can see below (with a humorous tag added to the end):

So what's the history behind that little jab? From a Certain Point of View spells it out in Fett's chapter (via ScreenRant):

"He's [Vader] still got a mad on over those rebel spies I crisped on Coruscant. Idiots came at me with ion disruptors. What, they thought I wouldn't carry a weapon accelerator? Flash, boom, three tiny ash piles. Tried to collect and Lord 'No Disintegrations!' refused to pay without bodies. My word's not good enough, apparently. Reckoned I'd make up the loss by finding his droids and holding out for twice the reward."

So apparently this was a common decree from Vader to Fett, since Fett is sarcastically calling Vader "Lord No Disintegrations" before the events of Empire. So there you have it. Turn your faces to the skies, close your eyes in peace, let the sun shine warmly upon you, and rejoice – this mystery has finally been solved.

I like the idea of a Lucasfilm Story Group, but things like this – in which writers go back and mine every last line of dialogue in the films for ways to include references to it – strikes me as a tiny bit much. We don't need literally every single question in the Star Wars universe to be answered. They should know better than anyone that if you establish a concrete backstory for absolutely everything, you leave the fans nothing to argue about – and that's half the fun for them.