(Was “Hammerhead” a mean nickname, or the official tag for a whole species of flat-faced badasses?) A minor figure in that wretched hive of scum and villainy could show up in the sequels/prequels with more of their brethren in tow even the ones shrouded in mystery turned into fan favorites. Watching the movies, you’d run across a character – sometimes a major player, other times a mere face in the background – and you’d think: Where did they come from? What’s their story? How did that weird-looking droid become a bounty hunter? What’s Boba Fett hiding behind that mask – and where can I get that rocket pack?!? And once the action-figure lines began dipping deep into the supporting players, you really started to get a sense of densely populated this universe was. bad is mythic and timeless – but it’s the vast universe that saga set up, full of alien races and oddball technology, that has arguably kept people coming back to dig into the far corners of Star Wars‘ worlds.
There are many reasons why George Lucas’ story of a young man, an evil Empire and a galaxy far, far away captured the imaginations of the generation who grew up on that original trilogy, and why it still reels in younger viewers weaned on prequels, sequels and other canonical spin-offs.
