'The Book of Boba Fett' Explains a Major 'Return of the Jedi' Plot Hole

The Book of Boba Fett landed on Disney+ on Wednesday, December 29, providing the next chapter in the Star Wars franchise.

Following the character's re-introduction in The Mandalorian Season 2, the TV show finds the character (played by Temuera Morrison) starting his own criminal empire in Tatooine after taking over Jabba the Hutt's throne.

But that's not all the first episode in the new drama did, as it also explained a major plot hole from Return of the Jedi that fans were no doubt curious about: How did Boba Fett survive being dropped into the Sarlacc Pit?

**Warning: This article contains minor spoilers for The Book of Boba Fett Episode 1**

How did Boba Fett survive the Sarlacc Pit?

In the third film of the original trilogy, Boba Fett was seemingly killed when he fell into the gaping mouth of the Sarlacc on Tatooine while Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Han Solo (Harrison Ford) saved Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) from Jabba the Hutt.

However, his appearance in The Mandalorian confirmed what fans had hoped for for many years, that the bounty hunter had somehow survived the ordeal.

The manner in which he survived was first explained in the short story "A Barve Like That: The Tale of Boba Fett" from Star Wars Legends novel Tales from Jabba's Palace.

In the book, which is no longer considered canon following Disney's takeover of Lucasfilm, it was revealed that the bounty hunter got out of the creature's belly by making an explosion using his jetpack.

After the jetpack created a tear in the Sarlacc's side, Boba Fett set off a number of grenades to blast a hole big enough for him to escape out of.

The Book of Boba Fett takes inspiration from this short story, it seems, as the episode opens with the bounty hunter dreaming of the moment he escaped.

In the memory, Boba Fett wakes up after falling into the Sarlacc Pit and he finds himself in the creature's body and is unable to pull himself out.

Using his torch, the bounty hunter discovers a nearby stormtrooper's body that also fell into the Sarlacc, and after making his way to the person he frees a tube from their helmet to help himself breathe.

In one swift movement Boba Fett punches into the Sarlacc's side, his fist tearing its stomach and, once his arm is on the other side, he uses his flamethrower to make swift work of the creature and escape.

The character was then seen pulling himself out of the sand near the Sarlacc Pit, fainting from the effort and later being discovered first by Jawas and then by Tusken Raiders.

The Book of Boba Fett airs every Wednesday on Disney+.