Is Cad Bane Dead & How Did He Die?

The Star Wars galaxy is full of interesting side stories and side characters that have become quite popular in their own right, and one of the things you might have noticed about them is that they are almost always bounty hunters. One of the most popular bounty hunters in the Star Wars universe is Cad Bane, who had a run-in with the Jedi during the Clone Wars and is also the mentee of Jango Fett and the mentor of Boba Fett. As interesting as Cad Bane is, is he dead?

Cad Bane died at the hands of Boba Fett in the finale of The Book of Boba Fett after appearing in two episodes. Prior to his appearance in the live-action series, his status was ambiguous because nothing in the Star Wars canon suggested that he either lived or died in Clone Wars and The Bad Batch.

It was good move on the part of the writers to introduce Cad Bane back to the continuity by having him appear in The Book of Boba Fett. However, considering his age and his history with Boba Fett, it was also a good move on the writers to seal his fate in The Book of Boba Fett to close the chapter on the life of one of the most popular Star Wars characters of all time.

Who Is Cad Bane?

The entire Star Wars universe is full of different interesting characters that all have their own roles to play in the grander scheme of things. While the main focus of the story revolves around the good vs. evil battle between the Jedi and the Sith and the different groups that they support, there are other characters that tend to be in the gray areas because they just want to make a living.

In that regard, some of the most interesting characters in the entire Star Wars universe are the bounty hunters, who make a living in the underground part of the galaxy because they support neither the Jedi nor the Sith and the Rebels/Resistance nor the Empire/First Order. They just do their bounties to earn money.

While we often look at Jango Fett and Boba Fett as some of the most popular bounty hunters in the Star Wars galaxy, one character that became quite popular in the animated Clone Wars series is Cad Bane.

Cad Bane is a Duros bounty hunter who was, at one point, the greatest bounty hunter in the galaxy following the death of Jango Fett. And the interesting part is that he was also someone who learned under Jango at one point in his life, and that is why he is as good as he is.

One of the reasons why Cad Bane is quite popular is the fact that he has a cool appearance that is western in nature because of his cowboy hat and coat. On top of that, he carries a no-nonsense attitude that allows him to get the job done. He isn’t beyond doing even the lowest actions just so he could complete his bounty.

Of course, as the best bounty hunter in the galaxy, Cad Bane was equipped with the skills that allowed him to survive his skirmishes with the Jedi whenever he had a run-in with the law. And he passed on some of the things he learned to Boba Fett, who went on to learn under him during the Clone Wars.

Speaking of the Clone Wars, Cad Bane became prominent in the battle between the Republic and the Separatists because he took on jobs that required his expertise as a bounty hunter. And that is why there were several events in the Clone Wars that involved his handiwork. 

Is Cad Bane Dead?

Despite the fact that Cad Bane was a prominent character during the Clone Wars, one of the things that people are wondering about is his ultimate fate. The reason why people were wondering about his fate was that there was an ambiguity regarding his status for a long time until The Book of Boba Fett brought him in. However, since The Book of Boba Fett had aired its finale episode, there are more people wondering what happened to him, especially if they are yet to see the episode.

So, in that regard, is Cad Bane dead?

Prior to Cad Bane’s appearance in The Book of Boba Fett, Cad Bane’s status was unknown. He may have appeared in The Bad Batch, which took place shortly after Clone Wars. However, it was difficult to truly confirm his status because he never showed up in any of the other Star Wars media that took place after The Bad Batch.

The reason for the ambiguity stems from the fact that Dave Filoni, who worked on Clone Wars, showed an unfinished episode regarding Boba Fett and Cad Bane. It was this episode that made things quite unclear regarding the status of Bane.

In that episode, Cad Bane was working together with Boba Fett on one of their bounties. Bane was holding hostages that he was willing to use as a bargaining chip. Fett, being the honorable bounty hunter that he is, negotiated with Bane to let the hostages go. But this led to a duel between the two legendary bounty hunters because Cad Bane was not willing to negotiate with his protégé.

The duel between the bounty hunters led to a western-style shootout. In the end, both Bane and Fett got shot and were left lying on the ground.

However, the standing theory at that time was that the episode was never canon because it never aired. As such, Cad Bane was still indeed alive. The theory that he was alive was confirmed by The Book of Boba Fett when he appeared in episode 6 as the head mercenary working for the Pyke Syndicate.

Considering that Cad Bane was brought back to the continuity, the trajectory for his character was headed towards a clash between him and Boba Fett, as they were on opposite sides heading into the season finale.

In the season finale, Cad Bane did indeed die at the hands of the bounty hunter that was once his student. As such, the story between Bane and Fett came full circle when the former mentor died at the hands of his mentee.

Did Cad Bane Survive The Clone Wars?

Cad Bane’s most prominent appearance was in Star Wars: Clone Wars because he took part in a lot of the different bounties that involved the Separatists. This is why he had his own run-ins with the Jedi on numerous occasions and even worked with Obi-Wan Kenobi on a mission. But, did Cad Bane survive the Clone Wars?

Before his appearance in The Bad Batch and The Book of Boba Fett, Cad Bane’s status was quite questionable, as people were wondering whether or not he survived the events of the Clone Wars, especially due to the unaired episode wherein he got shot by Boba Fett himself.

However, because he did appear in The Bad Batch, which happened after the Clone Wars and during the early days of the Empire, and The Book of Boba Fett, there is no arguing against the fact that he did survive the Clone Wars. 

Is Cad Bane Dead In Bad Batch?

Bad Batch is a spin-off series that takes place after Star Wars: Clone Wars. That means that the timeline of Bad Batch is just a bit after the timeline of Clone Wars. Of course, fans were excited to see that Cad Bane made an appearance in Bad Batch. But did he die in Bad Batch?

Cad Bane made an appearance in The Bad Batch but he didn’t die in his encounter with Hunter and his crew. Instead, he was merely stranded on a planet when Fennec Shand messed with his ship. And considering that he made it all the way to The Book of Boba Fett nearly three decades later, it is safe to say that he survived the events surrounding The Bad Batch.

How Did Cad Bane Die?

In the finale episode of The Book of Boba Fett, we were teased to an early standoff between Boba Fett and Cad Bane when the latter tried to goad his former student into a duel. However, thanks to the efforts of Fennec Shand, Fett realized that it wasn’t the right time to be baited into a duel against his former mentor.

Cad Bane took his sweet time to appear once again because it took until the destruction of the Scorpenek droids, the Pykes’ trump cards, and the death of countless Pyke soldiers for him to appear to settle the score with Boba Fett. At that time, Fett was riding a Rancor and was ready to trample Bane with it.

However, Bane was quick enough to push the Rancor back and repel it using his flamethrower while also dismounting Fett from the beast. This led to a showdown between two of the greatest bounty hunters in the history of the galaxy.

Bane, being the faster of the two, disarmed Boba Fett, who tried to put up a good fight but was seemingly outmatched by his former master. However, when Bane was about to deal the final shot to the armored former bounty hunter, Boba Fett turned the odds around by using his Tusken spear to surprise the blue-skinned bounty hunter. 

Thanks to his close-quarter combat training with the Tuskens, Boba Fett completely overpowered Cad Bane and swept him to the ground before stabbing him in the chest using the spear. This ended the long 71-year life of the bounty hunter once called the best in the galaxy.