10 Reasons Fans Suspect Qi’ra Is The Big Bad In The Book of Boba Fett

Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Book Of Boba Fett.

The Book of Boba Fett is mostly about the battle for Jabba the Hutt’s vacated throne, with Boba Fett contending with Hutts, Pykes, and others. But there are many clues that someone else is behind the attempts to dislodge Boba Fett from his nascent criminal empire. Many clues in the series have fans suspecting that the real big bad is none other than Qi’ra, the leader of Crimson Dawn and former lover of Han Solo.

Qi’ra has appeared only once in live-action so far, in Solo: A Star Wars Story. But she’s since returned in Marvel Comics, where she’s made big moves against major players in the galaxy including Boba Fett. Several clues within the new live-action series suggest Crimson Dawn is the big bad behind all the others, meaning Qi’ra is the ultimate villain of the series and potentially others going forward.

Order Of The Night Wind

The first challengers to Boba Fett’s reign on Tatooine are revealed to be assassins from the Order Of The Night Wind. While this group of mercenaries has no stated connection to Crimson Dawn, they all wear crimson and use crimson shields to attack.

It’s also unclear who hired them. Boba Fett suspects it is Mok Shiaz, the mayor of Mos Espa, but the mayor doesn’t admit to this. He kills the assassin Boba Fett and Fennec Shand have captured, more than likely to keep him from revealing the truth.

Boba Fett Needs Permission To Attack The Hutts

After the Twins, a pair of Hutt siblings, challenge Boba Fett for his empire, Boba considers killing them. Fennec Shand tells him that he would need permission to kill a Hutt. The real question boils down to who could be higher than Hutts on the totem pole that Boba Fett would need their permission. Crimson Dawn makes the most sense.

The Twins are among the most powerful Hutts in the Star Wars galaxy, but they’ve been displaced in the criminal underworld. Crimson Dawn began a campaign of destroying and suppressing other syndicates in the War of the Bounty Hunters crossover event in Marvel Comics. It seems that Qi’ra was successful in accomplishing her goal.

Tatooine Was Promised To Another Syndicate

When the Twins surprise Boba Fett by telling him they’re withdrawing their campaign to unseat him, they also reveal another secret. Mok Shiaz has promised control of Tatooine to the Pyke Syndicate. Shiaz doesn’t have that kind of power, though, indicating someone else has done this.

He could be in the pocket of the Pykes, but the Hutts could buy him off. They’re not trying to, for the same reason, Fett needs permission to kill them. Comic book fans know Black Krrsantan is a one-man army, and Mok Shiaz doesn’t have enough resources or muscle to stop the bounty hunter. He is working with someone else, evidenced by his swift silencing of the assassin from the Order of the Night wind.

The Pykes Are Connected To The Shadow Collective

The Pykes seem like they are the ultimate villains of the series, but they have a long history in Star Wars that suggests otherwise. They are connections to Crimson Dawn going back to their original affiliation with Darth Maul in his Shadow Collective.

The Shadow Collective would combine several syndicates including the Pykes and Black Sun in some of the best episodes of the Clone Wars animated series, and the Pykes could still be very much affiliated with Crimson Dawn and Qi’ra in The Book of Boba Fett.

Qi’ra Worked With The Pykes In War Of The Bounty Hunters

The Pykes are almost certainly still affiliated with Crimson Dawn. They appeared in Marvel Comics at the auction of Han Solo, where Qi’ra sold the frozen smuggler to the highest bidder. The Pykes were bidders for Han but lost out.

The Pykes have never been a power player in the criminal underworld in the galaxy, but rather appear only in connection to others. That was true of the Shadow Collective and Crimson Dawn in the past and is likely still the case in The Book of Boba Fett.

A Syndicate War

The War of the Bounty Hunters crossover ends with Qi’ra revealing her ultimate plans. She seeks to pit all the major criminal syndicates of the galaxy against each other in a bid to destroy them so Crimson Dawn can come to the fore. That appears to be happening in the series, easily making The Book of Boba Fett a place Qi’ra could appear next in live-action.

Someone is playing the Hutts and Pykes against each other, as the Hutts were caught completely unaware of the Pykes’ involvement on Tatooine even though their spice trade there predated Boba Fett’s taking the throne by years. Qi’ra could be in the final stages of knocking off two major players in the Hutts and Pykes.

Qi’ra Stole Han Solo From Boba Fett

Fans might question why Qi’ra would even care about Jabba the Hutt’s former empire or Boba Fett, but there is personal history between the two. Qi’ra operatives steal the carbonite frozen Han Solo out from under Boba Fett in the War of the Bounty Hunters crossover, leading the bounty hunter to scramble to get him back.

Boba Fett eventually succeeds, drawing the ire of Qi’ra. Though her plans mostly go as she intended, she could still harbor animosity toward Boba Fett. It might not just be for their feud during the original trilogy, either. Qi’ra could still harbor some feelings for Han Solo, which could motivate her to act so personally against Boba Fett.

The Pyke Leader Wears A Familiar Symbol

The connection between the Pykes and Qi’ra could even be more direct. One reason fans are speculating on Qi’ra’s involvement in the series is the symbol the lead Pyke wears on Tatooine is very similar to that of Crimson Dawn, as seen in Solo: A Star Wars Story.

It’s worth noting Qi’ra traditionally wears a half-circle version of the full Crimson Dawn symbol and the lead Pyke is wearing a golden symbol that reflects this unusual split. It still maintains the circle within a circle motif of the original, however.

The Past And Future Collide

The Mandalorian has been setting up numerous spinoffs, including a ‘climactic event’ which will bring them all together. This is most likely the retaking of Mandalore. Clues in The Book of Boba Fett suggest the planet could be in the hands of Crimson Dawn and Qi’ra.

The current status of the planet is unknown but is unlikely to be held by the Imperial Remnant. Darth Maul once ruled the planet with Death Watch, and Qi’ra inherited Crimson Dawn from him along with possible partnerships with Mandalorian houses. Crimson Dawn may have seized control of the planet post-Empire, putting her as the big bad of not just The Book of Boba Fett but numerous series.

The Crimson Dawn Theme

The biggest clue that Qi’ra is the big bad of The Book of Boba Fett is that the musical theme associated with Crimson Dawn has already been heard in the series. The original leitmotif from Solo: A Star Wars Story is embedded in the theme of The Book Of Boba Fett.

This seems too unlikely to be a coincidence considering all the other evidence for Qi’ra involvement. Star Wars has routinely blended themes and cues from earlier franchises to great effect in the past, meaning this is likely the most overt example Qi’ra is the main villain.

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