One of the Imperials leans over the shoulders of another two and inquires as to why there are bounty hunters aboard and, man, this little exchange is so underrated in terms of the appeal of the characters and the scene itself. When we first glimpse the hunters, who Darth Vader summoned to hunt down the Millennium Falcon, they’re on a platform above a crew of Imperial cronies plunking away at interstellar keyboards. Its efficiency in conveying information paired with the immediate allure of the characters it introduces makes for a scene that captures everything that has made the world of Star Wars so alluring for over 40 years now. In just a hair over 45 seconds, the film establishes an archetype within its universe, propels the plot forward, and introduces the man who will become one of the all-time great icons of the Star Wars saga in Boba Fett. It is, in retrospect, shocking just how short it is, considering its lasting legacy on not only the Star Wars franchise but pop culture at large. And no scene in the trilogy has exemplified this more clearly than the introduction of the bounty hunters in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. From the Mos Eisley cantina to Cloud City, every set piece comes with a sense of wonder that is, when you think about it, extraordinarily difficult to strike from a craft stance. The genius of the worldbuilding of the original Star Wars trilogy is the balance between telling the audience everything they need to know about the characters, the world in which they inhabit, and the stories surrounding them without telling the audience so much that there’s no room for them to want to know more about it all.

Best star wars bounty hunters