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There's a fan theory that it was possibly Boba Fett who killed Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru in A New Hope, instead of Storm Troopers, as Obi-Wan thought).

This is a big jump (that Obi Wan was wrong) — but listen to the reasons in favour of this idea:

  • Boba Fett was reasonably close by at Mos Eisley with Jabba (according to Canon)

  • Vader was clearly frustrated at how slow his men were going, and in The Empire Strikes Back we see the Empire resort to using Bounty Hunters to solve a problem.

  • Storm Troopers have no reason to cover up the murdering of Jawas by making it look like Sand People attacked. Whereas a Bounty hunter would want to prevent other Bounty hunters from grabbing his prize.

  • In The Empire Strikes Back, Vader reprimands Boba Fett saying

    I want them alive - no disintegrations!

    This seems to be a hint that Boba Fett got it wrong last time.

  • Who else have we seen disintegrated? The Jawas, Owen and Beru.

  • Disintegration wouldn't happen by blaster fire or even a Lightsaber. It would take more, it would take burning the bodies.

  • We know Fett has a weapon on his arm to easily burn a victim of his choosing.

My question is: Is there any evidence to suggest that Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen were killed by Boba Fett and not the Storm Troopers?

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hawkeye
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  • Given the Obi-Wan is a pathological liar, I wouldn’t read too much into his testimony. He may blame it on stormtroopers know it’s wrong (does he say it explicitly? I forget) – they’re a vague, faceless group to blame, and it would be hard to exact revenge. If he knew it was an individual, Luke might seek revenge against them specifically, bringing out his Dark Side tendencies. – alexwlchan Feb 27 '16 at 11:43
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    @alexwlchan I don't believe he says so explicitly. They find the dead Jawas, “only Storm Troopers are so precise”, Luke realises they may have found Owen and Beru and storms off home to find them roasted. I don't think the fact that Storm Troopers killed them is ever even stated by anyone; it's just an assumption the viewer makes based on the ‘precise’ line by Obi-Wan. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Feb 27 '16 at 13:32
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    burned =/= disintegration. Storm Troopers have every reason to cover it up. At this is time Palpatine had not dissolved the Senate yet. If the Senators found out that the Empire was going around slaughtering local populations you would have more systems siding with the rebellion. – Skooba Feb 27 '16 at 13:58
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    This is the worst kind of fan-theory. Literally bonkers. – Valorum Feb 27 '16 at 18:07
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    @Richard It could have been blamed on Jar Jar Binks – thegreatjedi Feb 28 '16 at 03:32
  • Of course the stormtroopers had reason to hide the fact that they were responsible. – Null Feb 28 '16 at 21:50
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    Boba has motive to track and punish Jedi after seeing Mace behead Jango in Ep. 2. Boba could have been on the trail of Obi-Wan or Anakin (whom he might not know to be Vader). – Gaultheria Mar 03 '17 at 02:26
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    you forgot the main argument here.. they were actually killed, meaning that whoever kill them was able to hit them... which cast doubt about the fact it was stormtroopers. – dna Oct 09 '17 at 06:55
  • You have already given the evidence. Haven't you? – user931 Oct 09 '17 at 06:57
  • But Owen and Beru weren't disintegrated: we saw their burnt bodies in A New Hope. This fan theory is indeed bonkers. – Andres F. Jul 26 '18 at 18:21
  • Always found it amusing Obi Wan says Storm Troopers are so precise after the boarding of Leia's ship in the opening where they were the exact opposite – MichaelF Dec 17 '21 at 13:22

2 Answers2

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This theory has now been debunked in new Disney canon ("From a Certain Point of View" short story collection, "Added Muscle" by Paul Dini).

  • We find out who Fett "disintegrated" where Vader was concerned, and it was not Aunt Beru and Owen Lars - it was three rebels on Coruscant.

    ... I picked up trooper buzz that Vader was looking for a couple of runaway droids. Figured I’d collect the bounty and square myself with the headman at the same time. He’s still got a mad on over those rebel spies I crisped on Coruscant. Idiots came at me with ion disruptors. What, they thought I wouldn’t carry a weapon accelerator? Flash, boom, three tiny ash piles. Tried to collect and Lord “No Disintegrations!” refused to pay without bodies. My word’s not good enough, apparently.

  • Additionally, he's directly confirmed to NOT have been who killed Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen; as Fett found their bodies:

    ... I picked up trooper buzz that Vader was looking for a couple of runaway droids. Figured I’d collect the bounty ... Reckoned I’d make up the loss by finding his droids and holding out for twice the reward.

    No go on that. Trailed one until its footprints were wiped out by a Jawa sandcrawler. Followed those treads a way until I found someone had wiped out the Jawas, too. “Someone” meaning amateurs trying to fake a Tusken raid. Probably stormtroopers, judging by the random blast shots. Some might call them precise. Me, I say they can’t hit the butt end of a bantha. At least they had brains enough to take out everyone who had seen the droids. Hard luck on the sizzled hicks I found at that torched moisture farm.

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DVK-on-Ahch-To
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Based on the new canon it would be highly unlikely.

From the new Marvel comic series Star Wars and Star Wars:Darth Vader it would seem that Vader first encounters and procures the services of the adult Boba Fett after the events of Episode IV.

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