10 Sci-Fi Movie Villains That Had Totally Lame Deaths

2. Boba Fett - Return Of The Jedi

boba fett death
Lucasfilm

To borrow a phrase from the realms of professional wrestling, is there ever anyone in sci-fi movie history who was jobbed out in a more underwhelming way than Boba Fett?

Depicted as the baddest of badass bounty hunters in the galaxy, Fett's brief appearance in The Empire Strikes Back saw him be the only person with the grapefruits to talk back to Darth Vader and live! This Mandalorian armour-adorned warrior was positioned as somebody so effective and outright tough that even the choke-happy Vader second guessed himself when in Boba's company.

So, to see Boba Fett's demise play out in such a ridiculous way in Return of the Jedi? That's something that has forever slapped Star Wars fans in the face.

The fact that Fett's demise was the slowburn digestion of being gobbled up by the Sarlacc wasn't even so much a bad way to go - it's more the way that this all played out in an almost slapstick manner.

Remember, a blind Han Solo cartoonishly causes Boba's jetpack to malfunction, in turn launching Fett up into the skies only for him to plummet into the Sarlacc pit. The end result was something that felt more in tune with Mr. Bean, rather than being a fitting send-off for one of the galaxy's most feared bounty hunters.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.