Who Was In The Tank At The End of Boba Fett (& How Is He Alive)?

The finale episode of The Book of Boba Fett allowed us to close the proverbial book on the first season of this series, as Boba Fett was able to secure his rule over Mos Espa after ousting the Pyke Syndicate. However, after the episode’s mid-credits ended, we were greeted by a Marvel-esque post-credits scene that gave us a look at Boba Fett’s bacta tank with someone else other than him inside. So, who was in the tank at the end of The Boo of Boba Fett, and how is he still alive?

Cobb Vanth was the one in the bacta tank at the end of The Book of Boba Fett. In episode 6, he was shot by Cad Bane. Meanwhile, throughout the entire finale episode, the assumption was that he died after getting shot. However, he survived because he only got shot in the shoulder, which isn’t a vital spot.

A lot of people were made to believe that Cobb Vanth did indeed die after his duel with Cad Bane because that was what the episode made us believe. But they pulled a fast one on us when we saw that Vanth was still alive at the end of the episode. And this is something that those who didn’t watch through the credits would easily miss.

Who Was In The Tank At The End Of Boba Fett?

It isn’t a secret that Star Wars movies and shows all have their own unique surprises and twists and turns that have contributed a lot to the entire flow of the greater narrative. And a lot of those surprises tend to be related to people who had seemingly died but, for some good explanation, managed to stay alive.

This isn’t something new in the Star Wars continuity because this is what happened to Emperor Palpatine between the events of Return of the Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. Even Ahsoka Tano, who we thought had died in Rebels, appeared to be alive during the latter part of the series. And to some extent, this also happened in The Book of Boba Fett.

In The Book of Boba Fett, the season finale gave us an explosive conclusion to this season, as we saw Boba Fett fending off the forces of the Pyke Syndicate with his own small army and with the help of a Rancor. We also saw him squaring off and killing his old mentor, Cad Bane. And the ending was quite satisfying, especially because we saw Din Djarin traveling the galaxy with Grogu once more.

However, those who stayed until the end of the mid-credits as if they were watching a Marvel movie would have seen a welcome surprise in the post-credits scene. Basically, after the mid-credits, we were brought to a scene in Boba Fett’s palace, where the bacta tank was at the center of the picture.

Meanwhile, the scene steadily focuses on the bacta tank while showing us two familiar faces. The first one was Steven “Thundercat” Bruner’s mod artist character, the same person who modified Fennec Shand to keep her alive. And the second one was a surprising face that we thought was dead. Of course, the person we are talking about is Cobb Vanth, who is in Boba Fett’s bacta tank.

Now, the reason why this is a surprising scene goes back to what happened near the end of episode 6 of The Book of Boba Fett. In that episode, Din Djarin went to a place formerly called Mos Pelgo but is now Freetown to recruit marshal Cobb Vanth and the town’s citizens to fight for Boba Fett against the Pykes because he knew that the townsfolk were good fighters.

While it did take a while for Djarin to recruit the marshal and his town’s citizens, Vanth eventually agreed to join the war against the Pyke Syndicate because he didn’t want spice to make its way to the peaceful settlement of Freetown. 

However, near the end of the episode, the bounty hunter Cad Bane, who was working with the Pyke Syndicate, appeared to try to convince the marshal to stay out of their business. When Cobb Vanth rejected the bounty hunter’s offer, an old western standoff happened, with Cad Bane coming out as the victor. Marshal Vanth was left lying on the ground after getting shot.

So, the belief that Cobb Vanth died after getting shot by Cad Bane came about as a result of what the finale implied. When discussing plans with the Pykes, Bane told the Pyke leader that he took care of Vanth so that the people of Freetown would not join Boba Fett’s side. Bane reiterated what he did when he went over to Boba Fett’s camp in the ruins of The Sanctuary to discuss terms.

Meanwhile, even though the Freetown fighters did indeed arrive, Din Djarin told Freetown barkeep that he was sorry for what happened to the marshal, to which the barkeep replied, “they gunned him down in cold blood.” As such, it was easy to believe that Cobb Vanth had died after losing his standoff with Cad Bane.

However, because we saw that Cobb Vanth was in Boba Fett’s bacta tank and was ready to get his modifications from Thundercat’s character, it was confirmed that he did survive that duel with Cad Bane and was now recovering from his wounds. Of course, he is set to get the same cybernetic modifications that kept Fennec Shand alive when she was dealt a mortal wound back in season 1 of The Book of Boba Fett.

How Is Cobb Vanth Alive?

For those who are wondering how Cobb Vanth came out of the duel with Cad Bane alive, it is worthy to note that, while he did get shot, he was shot only once and on the shoulder. We can’t say the same about his deputy though, because he was shot multiple times in vital parts.

Back in episode 6 when Vanth and Bane were about to shoot, the deputy was ready to back his marshal up. Cobb Vanth was clearly distracted because he was concerned about his deputy, who had no business sticking his nose in a duel between two of the fastest hands we have seen thus far. Of course, Bane was also aware that the deputy was also about to shoot.

The distraction that the deputy caused could have slowed Cobb Vanth down because he was concerned. However, we can also assume that Cad Bane, who almost never misses a shot, didn’t have enough time to aim for a vital spot when he shot Vanth because he needed enough time to shoot the deputy as well.

Then again, while Vanth was only shot on the shoulder, it was clear that the injuries he suffered were quite serious because he needed the help of a bacta tank to recover. On top of that, he also needed to receive some modifications from a mod artist to stay alive.

Will Cobb Vanth Get His Own Star Wars Show?

Considering that the showrunners actually put in the effort to confirm that Cobb Vanth was indeed alive, this has led some people to wonder if Lucasfilm has bigger plans for him. They wouldn’t have kept him alive had he not been an important part of the continuity during the era of The Mandalorian. So, does that mean that Cobb Vanth will be getting his own Star Wars show?

It is unlikely that Cobb Vanth will be getting his show. If you noticed the trend of Star Wars shows on Disney+, they are all about established characters and interesting lore. Boba Fett is an established and immensely popular Star Wars character. The upcoming Ahsoka and Obi-Wan series are also about established characters. Meanwhile, The Mandalorian, while it introduces new characters, explores the Mandalorian culture and lore that have always been interesting.

On the other hand, we have only seen Cobb Vanth a few times, and his role as the marshal of a small town isn’t something that has a lot of potential for a spin-off show.

We are leaning towards the possibility of him getting a bigger role in season 2 of The Book of Boba Fett if the series does indeed get renewed. Think of him as someone similar to Fennec Shand, who had a small role in The Mandalorian but became one of the biggest secondary characters in The Book of Boba Fett. And considering that Cobb Vanth and Freetown now have relations with Boba Fett’s gotra, there might be an angle that Lucasfilm would like to explore there.