Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for The Book of Boba Fett.
The Book of Boba Fett introduced two twins representing the Hutt Clan as the latest villains to menace the universe. The Twins seem poised to be the antagonists of The Book of Boba Fett and the primary opposition to the bounty hunter’s ascension into the role of kingpin. However, their presence raises questions regarding the history of the Hutt Clan in the Star Wars canon and where the syndicate currently stands.
Jabba the Hutt was mentioned in the first Star Wars film, , and was intended to appear in the film as a gangster to whom the smuggler Han Solo owed money. Unfortunately, the technology of the time was not up to the task of presenting the slug-like crime-boss George Lucas had envisioned and he elected to cut the scene rather than run it with Jabba being played by a human actor. Instead, Jabba was established as a menacing but remote presence, finally making his grand appearance as a giant puppet controlled by three technicians in Return of the Jedi. A digitally crafted Jabba was later added into the Special Edition of A New Hope, restoring the lost scene to where Lucas had intended to place it in 1977.
The criminal empire behind Jabba the Hutt was examined in some of the comic books, novels and animated series based around the Clone Wars. Despite this, and the Hutt Clan being numbered as one of the Five Syndicates controlling the criminal underworld of the Star Wars universe alongside Darth Maul’s Crimson Dawn and the Black Sun syndicate, the organization is still largely a mystery, with three of its five ruling families unnamed in the canon chronicles. The Hutt Clan’s fate following the death of Jabba the Hutt is an even bigger mystery, which The Book of Boba Fett seems ready to explore.
The Twins are original characters created for The Book of Boba Fett and are said to be cousins of Jabba the Hutt. Jabba’s family tree has been extensively chronicled in both the canon and Star Wars Legends realities and there has been no previous reference to a pair of twins among his relatives. The only known cousin of Jabba the Hutt was Crakka, who was introduced in a 2019 comic, Star Wars Adventures: Return to Vader’s Castle #4, and quickly disposed of after she attempted to betray Jabba and the Hutt Clan.
The twin cousins of Jabba the Hutt came to Tatooine to take control of his territories after the death of Bib Fortuna. It is unclear if Fortuna had intended to build his own empire, as Boba Fett is now, or if he was pretending to safeguard Jabba’s holdings on behalf of the Hutts while ruling it in all but name. This latter option seems more likely, as it is unbelievable the Hutts would allow Jabba’s territory to go unsupervised for five years and only send two of their number to Tatooine to inspect things just after Boba Fett staked a claim. While the Hutts are a long-lived species for whom five years is practically nothing, Jabba the Hutt was one of the most powerful gangsters in the galaxy and it beggars belief the power vacuum left by his absence would not be filled immediately.
Alternatively known as the Hutt Families or Hutt Cartel, the Hutt Clan is one of the greatest organized criminal enterprises in the Star Wars universe. The Hutt Clan is actually made up of several clans, or kajidic, which are both gangs and families. The Hutt Clan is overseen by the Grand Hutt Council (or simply Hutt Council), which is made up of the leaders of the five most powerful kajidic. In this respect, they are comparable to real-world syndicates such as the Chinese Tongs and La Cosa Nostra, having a similar code of honor and silence regarding the family’s business.
Only two kajidic have been formally identified in the Star Wars canon. One, the Desilijic Tiure clan (or Tiure family) was overseen by Jabba the Hutt until his death in Return of the Jedi. The other, the Besadii family, was led by a male Hutt named Arok, who was among the leaders of the Hutt Council during the Clone Wars. Members of the Hutt Clan often decorate their bodies with tattoos of their kajidic’s insignia. Jabba sported the Desilijic clan mark on his right arm and the male Hutt Twin in The Book of Boba Fett seems to have his clan symbol tattooed on his lower lip.
The power of the Hutt Clan was considerable during the Old Republic era, with their reach spanning the galaxy and their rule within Hutt Space (a region contained between the Mid Rim and Outer Rim of the galaxy) being absolute. The Grand Hutt Council was able to maintain its hold on Hutt Space during the Imperial era by cooperating with Imperial forces as they expanded into other territories. However, the Empire increased its efforts to cut into the trade overseen by the Grand Hutt Council following the Battle of Yavin.
This conflict culminated in Darth Vader killing every member of the Grand Hutt Council except Jabba, during the events of the Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters comic book crossover event, which was set after The Empire Strikes Back. However, Jabba’s reign as the sole leader of the Grand Hutt Council was short and Jabba had little chance to enjoy the power he possessed at that time, famously being choked to death by Leia Organa. Little has been revealed regarding what became of the Hutt Clan following Jabba’s death, save that their power waned significantly. This was subtly shown in The Mandalorian, which revealed that the Bounty Hunter’s Guild no longer maintained an office on Tatooine, as there was not enough business there to justify it after Jabba’s death.
In the reality of Star Wars Legends, the Hutt crime families were known as the Hutt Cartel. This organization was formed from the wreckage of the Hutt Empire, which was one of the great galactic powers before the formation of the first Galactic Republic. The Hutt Empire collapsed following a civil war which destroyed the Hutt homeworld of Varl. This is one of the many ways in which the history of the Hutt Cartel is wildly different in the Legends timeline, which also offers a different origin story for Jabba’s pet rancor.
To prevent their species from destroying themselves and all they sought to control in pointless battle, the Hutts established a Council of Elders (or Hutt Ruling Council) made up of the leaders of their five most powerful families. The Hutts also adopted a new philosophy, developed by the Hutt Budhila Hestilic Amura, which encouraged them to forswear violent conquest in favor of subtle manipulation. This philosophy was dubbed Kajidic, which was a Hutt word literally translated as “Somebody’s got to have it. Why not us?” The word kajidic would later come to refer to the individual families making up the Hutt Cartel and their business enterprises.
Unlike the history revealed by The Book of Boba Fett, The Hutt Cartel survived the death of Jabba the Hut in the Star Wars Legends timeline. The cast of the Star Wars comic book series Legacy, which was set 130 years after the Battle of Yavin, included two members of the Hutt Council of Elders. One was Vedo Anjiliac Atirue, who was the head of the Anjiliac kajidic. The other, Queen Jool, was a female Hutt and information broker, who managed two cantinas on the planet of Coruscant.
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