In The Book of Boba Fett, bounty hunter Cad Bane made his live-action debut and managed to take down Cobb Vanth. Later, he clashed with Boba Fett, though that was a duel he lost...but did the villain also lose his life?
It certainly looked like that was where Bane's story ended, though a new Star Wars Timelines book has seemingly opened the door to us seeing him down the line.
According to The Direct (via SFFGazette.com), the Pyke Syndicate's hired gun is referred to being "out of action" rather than dead.
"Beneath the blistering twin suns of Tatooine, Bane returns to fight Boba one-on-one. Fett's armor protects him from Bane's shots, but the Duros seems to have the advantage," the excerpt reads. "Resolved to protect his territory, Boba uses the weapon of his Tusken tribe, his gaffi stick - and stabs Bane through the chest, putting the Pykes' hired gun out of action."
It's entirely possible the fact this book is aimed at a younger audience is why Bane's death isn't mentioned outright. We'd say that's the most likely possibility, anyway, though many fans have theorised for a while now that the villain found a way to escape death.
A small red light was seen blinking on Bane's chest after he was defeated by Fett, suggesting some sort of life-saving tech might have helped save him or at least brought an ally to his location. After all, if Vanth could survive his wounds, then surely one of the Galaxy's most formidable bounty hunters has some tricks up his sleeve?
There's been no news about plans for The Book of Boba Fett season 2 and the title character was nowhere to be seen in The Mandalorian's recent third season despite the fact all signs pointed to him showing up to lend a helping hand at some point (more details on why that didn't happen can be found here)
How would you feel about Cad Bane returning in a future live-action project?