Star Wars Once Gave Away Boba Fett for Free, But That Surprising History Makes This Jawa Even More Valuable

Boba Fett is undeniably the coolest character in the Star Wars original trilogy. In fact, I think it’s safe to say that for all the mainline movies. Despite having limited screen time, he managed to captivate audiences with his cool armor, which went on to inspire the entire history of Mandalore in The Clone Wars, and two separate shows in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. Of course, this also translated to his vintage toys, which are now among the most coveted of the lot. Even to this day, Kenner Boba Fett toys go for a lot of money at auctions, with the Holy Grail missile firing figure going for upwards of a million dollars, However, would you believe there was a time when Kenner gave away Boba Fett figures for free?

Sounds made up, right? But this Kenner Jawa figure is proof of it, and is currently up for auction at Heritage. Going at $410 at the time of writing, the Jawa itself isn’t all that valuable, especially because it isn’t the original vinyl cape version that’s highly coveted among collectors. However, what sets it apart is the ‘Free Boba Fett’ sticker on the packaging. Not only is this interesting because Kenner was giving away what would become its most famous action figure for free, but the promotion went live months before Boba Fett even made his theatrical debut in The Empire Strikes Back. The manufacturer was offering the figure for free upon mailing in the proof of purchase for any four Kenner figures.

Kenner Once Gave Fans Free Boba Fett Figures

Along with the sticker was an illustration of the Bounty Hunter that doesn’t quite look like the final product. This was probably due to the fact that Lucasfilm didn’t want to reveal images of the character before the movie released, giving us this rather silly looking depiction. However, since the bounty hunter got his actual debut in the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special, the artists had a bit of a reference to go by. They managed to capture his suit, but couldn’t quite recreate the iconic Mandalorian helmet. They also missed adding his blaster, and made the rocket on his backpack red and much larger. Other than that, I think it’s a pretty decent depiction of the character; but then again, this is coming from someone who can only draw stick figures.

Fast forward to today, when vintage Boba Fett figures go for thousands and even millions of dollars, the fact that Kenner gave these figures away for free seems unbelievable. Who would have thought that one of the franchise’s fan favorite characters would first be depicted as this Temu version of himself? It reminds us that no matter how humble your beginnings are, you never know how much you’ll be valued in the future, especially if you’re a vintage Star Wars toy in the collectors market. With almost a month left for bidding to end, you can be sure that this Jawa figure, which has be eclipsed by the Boba Fett sticker, will go for four figures, if not more.

What’s on vintage Kenner Star Wars toy you wish you owned as a kid? Let us know in the comments below!