'Star Wars' Theories: Boba Fett as Luke's Mom Was Almost Actually True

It was the pop culture bombshell of 1980 when Darth Vader told young Luke Skywalker that he was his father. But Luke Skywalker almost had a mother who wasn’t Padme Amidala. In fact, Luke’s mother, if Mark Hamill is to be believed, could have been character you absolutely never would have guessed.

In a Friday morning tweet, Hamill revealed how he failed to pitch George Lucas on a surprise twist in Return of the Jedi, which he thought up on the basis of “topping” the Vader/Luke reveal from the previous feature, Empire Strikes Back.

The twist: Boba Fett was Luke’s mother.

In a response to a fan calling back an old theory that Boba Fett was Luke’s mother (which appeared to have been a legitimately healthy fan theory among fans in between Episodes V and VI), Hamill replied back, explaining just what of the “Boba is Luke’s mom” theory was true and wasn’t true.

“I once suggested it to George as the only way we could top Vader being my father,” Hamill said. “I envisioned her as a double-agent working clandestinely for the Rebels. SPOILER ALERT: He didn’t like my idea.”

While it’s probably for the better that George Lucas put the kibosh on Boba Fett as Luke’s mother, one can’t help but think what kind of story that would have looked like. Both of Luke’s parents being alive and on opposite sides of a galactic conflict is a totally juicy premise that deserves to live on in alternate canon, like in Marvel-style “What If?” comic books.

Also, Hamill was definitely onto something with Boba Fett, a decidedly masculine action figure of a character, being a woman. Nintendo fans had their minds blown about a decade later when something similar happened in the video game Metroid after the bulky armored bounty hunter Samus Aran revealed herself to be a woman at the end of the game.

While Boba Fett is still just his boring old self with a whack-ass death, there is minor comfort in this cold, cruel world that even Luke Skywalker had his own fan theories about Star Wars canon. And there will definitely be more when The Mandalorian premieres on Disney+ in a few years.

Now watch: Why Darth Vader’s ghost will almost definitely be in ‘Star Wars: Episode IX*.