Star Wars Confirms 1 Major Villain Was Secretly a Father All Along

Lucasfilm Animation's Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld delivered a huge twist about one of the galaxy's biggest baddies. 

First announced at Star Wars Celebration 2025, all six episodes of Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld premiered Sunday, May 4, on Disney+, whose final three episodes focused on Cad Bane (Corey Burton). Star Wars' mysterious cowboy hat-wearing bounty hunter made his original debut in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and made the jump to live-action in Episode 6 of The Book of Boba Fett.

Bane's Tales of the Underworld story begins in Episode 4 and culminates in Episode 6, "One Good Deed," when it is revealed that Bane was secretly a father. 

Bane's surprising backstory began with Episode 4, "The Good Life," with a glimpse of his childhood on the streets, struggling to survive with his best friend Niro. After the two begin working for a cowboy-hat-wearing criminal named Lazlo, Cad Bane (whose real name is Colby) escapes with Lazlo while Niro is captured by the police.

In Episode 5, "A Good Turn," Lazlo is killed on Bane's home planet, prompting the young criminal to adopt his father figure's style and revisit his past with his love interest, Arin. There, he learns that Niro ended up on the right side of the law and is now a deputy to the marshal who killed his mentor. 

While avenging Lazlo's death, Arin is wounded. But she steals Bane's blaster so he can be taken into custody instead of dying in a shootout with Niro. As a result, Bane lands in prison for years.

In Episode 6, Cad Bane is released on a technicality and is out for revenge, which is made worse by learning of Arin's marriage to Niro before she died. Adding to Niro's fears about Bane's return is the existence of Arin's young son, Isaac.

When Cad Bane finds Niro, young Isaac interrupts the shootout, not wanting to be separated from his father. While Niro protects the boy and tries to tell Bane there is something Arin wanted him to know, Cad Bane shoots Niro anyway.

When Bane tells his dying childhood friend that he "took everything from me," Niro strokes Isaac's face before murmuring with his dying breath, "Not everything."

As Isaac tearfully looks up at Cad Bane, the bounty hunter realizes what Niro meant: that Isaac is Bane's biological son. Niro raised the boy as his own after marrying Arin and while Bane was behind bars. 

The episode ends with Isaac mourning his rightful father figure while Bane, dressed like his own father figure, Lazlo, walks away. 

Cad Bane's Fatherhood Storyline Is a Star Wars Tradition

Father-son storylines have always been at the heart of Star Wars storytelling. Initially, there was Darth Vader and Luke's story, followed by Anakin's loss of his father figure, Qui-Gon Jinn, in the prequels. Then, in the sequel trilogy, there was Ben Solo/Kylo Ren's relationship with Han Solo in The Force Awakens. 

But in addition to Cad Bane's arc continuing this tradition in Tales of the Underworld, the three-episode arc shows how family cycles can repeat when a generation fails to choose the right path, as well as how there can be a difference between a biological father and a real parent.

Tales of the Underworld's final three episodes also gave fans more background on Cad Bane than they ever knew. If the bounty hunter manages to return in either live-action or animation (did Cad Bane actually die in The Book of Boba Fett?), this new knowledge will likely influence how the audience views the villain moving forward. 

Check out the 7 Star Wars actors confirmed to return in Tales of the Underworld here!

Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld is streaming now on Disney+.