While the Star Wars fandom looks ahead to May for Obi-Wan Kenobi, Disney+ now hosts a full new series in The Book of Boba Fett, which started in December 2021. This series pulled no punches in its story, which went far beyond the titular Boba Fett and his partner Fennec Shand. Following up on Season 2 of The Mandalorian while introducing Cad Bane in live-action, fans from all walks of the fandom had something to enjoy.
Cad Bane was a particularly major addition to the live-action Star Wars story after having played a key role in all seven seasons of Lucasfilm's animated show The Clone Wars. While his return in future Star Wars entries on Disney+ is up in the air after Boba took him out on Tatooine, his appearance marks a major milestone for the universe's continued growth.
Even though some fans had complaints about Cad Bane's look after coming over from animation, his live-action debut still sent fans into a frenzy in The Book of Boba Fett's penultimate episode. Now, the fandom is getting an inside look into how that look came to the small screen with intimate details on Cad Bane's costume and prosthetics.
Behind the Scenes With Cad Bane
Javier Gonzalez, one of the costume builders on The Book of Boba Fett, shared imagery of concept art and behind-the-scenes work on Cad Bane's costume from the show on his Instagram account.
Featuring the villain's classic brown cowboy hat and blue gauntlets on his wrists, the concept art shows the immaculate details behind Bane's costume and accessories in his live-action debut.
Incredibly, the costume came to life through practical means. The suit features a long brown trench coat , gray slacks, and a large belt filled with ammunition and shell casings.
Another image shows how Bane's blue and mechanical head was brought to life as crew members adorn actor Corey Burton with his facial prosthetics and Bane's cowboy hat.
Completing the look is a pair of old western-style boots along with an ankle holster for more ammunition, which Cad Bane is known to utilize throughout his time in Star Wars projects.
Gonzalez shared what an honor it was to work with the show's costume designer Shawna Trpcic, even admitting to being "intimidated at first" since all he could reference was The Clone Wars. He described Trpcic's challenge to deliver this look under a "TV schedule," thanking her for the opportunity to work on the character:
"It was an honor to help Costume Designer Shawna Trpcic bring so many characters to life for Disney’s Book of Boba Fett, here’s another that we worked on, all in house, I was a little intimidated at first since the only reference I could find was the animated series, we had to think different in order to bring him to life. Shawna’s drive to deliver the best under the extreme circumstances of “TV” schedule was a challenge we all accepted. Thank you for allowing me to model, sculpt, prototype, mold and finish the hard parts for this guy!"
He finished his caption by quoting the late Apple head Steve Jobs, praising "the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels," and more people of the same ilk who "see things differently:"
"I can’t wait to get my hands creating cool stuff again soon. 'Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… The ones who see things differently – they’re not fond of rules. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or villify them, but the one thing you can’t do is ignore them, because they change things… Because the ones who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do. Think different.' Steve Jobs
Cad Bane's Look Completely Real in Boba Fett?
Many fans were quick to believe that it took a great deal of CGI work to bring the blue bounty hunter Cad Bane to life. As it turns out, it's yet another round of top-notch costuming from Star Wars top names in the department that brought the classic character into play from his time in The Clone Wars.
While the only thing not really shown is how the team made Burton's skin blue or the specifics on his face, these images show the incredible lengths they went to make sure the villain made his mark upon arrival.
The hope is that fans will see more of this behind-the-scenes material featuring Cad Bane in the coming weeks before the attention moves to Obi-Wan Kenobi's impending debut on Disney+. Particularly if this was the only time Cad Bane comes into play in a live-action project, the viewing public will want to learn as much as possible about how Corey Burton and the Lucasfilm crew made his appearance possible.
All seven episodes of The Book of Boba Fett are available to stream on Disney+.
