For some reason, bounty hunters in the Star Wars universe have been revered above all other professions.  The first to gain noteriety was Boba Fett and his appearance in The Empire Strikes Back caused a cult status reserved for very few characters in cinema history.  He was given a number of peers in that film (Bossk, IG-88, 4-LOM, Zuckuss and Dengar) but none matched in his comparasin.

More recently, we’ve been given Jango Fett, Zam Wessel, Aurra Sing who have, in their own small ways broached some part of Boba Fett’s popularity.

In the current, most popular form of Star Wars (Clone Wars, which you hear me rave about regularly) Boba Fett has yet to come of age.  And so the galaxy needs a Bounty Hunter.

At WonderCon last week, Steve Sansweet unveiled Cad Bane.

Bane is a bounty hunter modeled after Lee Van Cleef and his turns in the Man With No Name Trilogy (which you should all race out, buy and watch repeatedly.)

Series director Dave Filoni describes Cad Bane as an older bounty hunter at the top of the game since Jango Fett is no longer around. “Cade Bane has a lot more looser moral content than Jango ever had. He’ll shoot you dead, unless you offer him more money, and he might not and shoot the person who hired him dead.”

He’ll be making his Clone Wars premiere (alongside Aurra Sing!) in the season finale episode Hostage Crisis which airs March 20, 2009 in the United States on Cartoon Network.