George Lucas has admitted that the work of legendary filmmaker Akira Kurosawa influenced him not only to get his story told but also to revisit feudal Japan to expand on the space-aged world he'd go on to create. In the case of Boba Fett, for example, the initially no-so-chatty gun-for-hire was a byproduct of Darth Vader, whose very design impacted some of the saga's most iconic looks, including the lone Mandalorian.
In a book detailing the making of "The Empire Strikes Back," called "Once Upon a Galaxy" (via StarWars.com), Lucas initially described Vader as a bounty hunter and mercenary before deeming him better suited in the world of Jedi Knights and Sith Lords. "I split him up, and it was from the early concept of Darth Vader as a bounty hunter that Boba Fett came." Like that of Vader and the Stormtroopers, Fett's headgear does share a futuristic, otherworldly resemblance to the Japanese kabuto (helmet).
Admittedly, while the T-shaped point of view might mirror that of Roman soldiers, there's no severing the ties between "Star Wars" and Japanese history. DreamAiVision's AI trickery has delivered some stunning alternatives, but let's face it: you can't improve on perfection, and sometimes a killer look from Boba Fett is all you need.
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