Its almost that time, so let Heritage Auctions be the first to say: May the Fourth be with you. This years was a particularly special Star Wars day, too, with the launch of theFriday, May 31, Star Wars SignatureAuction, which features the most coveted Star Warstoy never made in 1979,one of the two surviving hand-painted, missile-firing Boba Fett action figures pulled from the production line. Man, oh, Mandalorian. This 3.75-inch Boba Fett stands tall among this events nearly 175 lots, includingthe lightsaber Luke Skywalker and Rey shared in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, a Lucas film-sanctioned Darth Vader helmet, armor and chest boxmade for early 1980s promotional tours,early and rare (and even cast-signed) posters, andone of the scant few surviving sealed copies of the original Star Warsvideocassette that came in the coveted drawer box. The event spans the beginning of the beginning of Star Wars, as represented bya revised fourth draft of George Lucas script when the movie was still titled The Adventures of Luke Starkiller as Taken from the Journal of the Whills (Saga I), to the modern-day sequels and streaming iterations. Theres material fromthe movies: Death Star panels!Ewok heads!Darth Mauls lightsaber! Material made to promote the movies includes the only knowngem-mint Han SoloandPrincess Leiastickers from Topps first series of Star Warstrading cards. Whether Rebel or Imperial, this is the auction youre looking for. It begins withthe little bounty hunter with the hefty price on hishead, the Boba Fett action figure that has achieved what ABC News once called mythic, unicorn-like status. At first, the figure was intended as a giveaway: FREE BOBA FETT, exhorted the in-store displays, the action-figure packaging and TV ads in 1979, shortly after the armored (and, then, animated) figure debuted as Darth Vaders right-hand man in the Star Wars Holiday Special. All a kid, or their parents, had to do was provide proof they had purchased four other Star Warsaction figures. In return, within six to eight weeks, they would receive Kenners 21st Star Warsaction figure with the rocket firing back pack. Even better, said the promos: Boba Fett not available in any store. To a kid for whom the force awakened their collecting bug, that sure put thebountyin bounty hunter. Except, quite famously, that rocket-loaded Boba Fett never arrived in the mail, or anywhere else, after reports surfaced in early 1979 that competitor Mattels Battlestar Galacticaplastic-missile-firing toys had become choking hazards. When he finally did arrive in a plain white box, the rocket had been glued into place, and there was a Note to Consumers explaining why the change had been made: The launcher has been removed from the product for safety reasons. Some Kenner employees spared the rocket-firing Boba Fetts destined for the Sarlacc pit. Thats how the few surviving prototypes became the most sought-after Star Warstoy in this galaxy or any other, whatEntertainment WeeklysAndrew Breznican once called the fulfillment of a broken promise. Projectiles were always touchy subjects, says former Kenner engineer Jacob Miles III, an original member of the companys Star Warsteam tasked with keeping that rocket safely in Boba Fetts backpack. But when Battlestar Galacticahad their issues, we immediately just shut it down and destroyed everything. We were concerned about disappointing kids because we had shown that thing (the rocket) taking off. But we had amuchbigger concern if we shipped it. This Boba Fett has the L-shaped latch in the back, of which there are some 70 known examples of the surviving 100 (or so) prototypes. As longtime Star Warsexpert and dealer Brian Rachfal notes in his letter of provenance, Its uncertain exactly how many Rocket Firing Boba Fetts were created, or survive 45 years later. But this is absolutely among the rarest. One of only two examples known, thishandpainted figure is still unique in its class, Rachfal writes, as its the only one with its head and appendages painted gray. This AFA-graded, CIB-authenticated figure has been so thoroughly examined that hobby historians can pinpoint where it was made (Kenners 10th floor at the Kroger building in Cincinnati, Ohio), how it got out (it was salvaged from a box of discarded toys deposited there for employees to take home) and where it eventually landed (with Justin Kerns, revered among Boba Fett-ishists as he once had nine unique survivors from the discarded lot). The diminutive Boba Fett figure, which Kenner kept small so kids could collect them all, is an imposing figure in an auction full of centerpiece offerings, among their considerable ranks is aMandalorianhelmet Pedro Pascal wore in season two of The Mandalorianand during his appearance on The Book of Boba Fett. Acolytes will take particular pleasure in perusingthe armory filled with iconic lightsabers that glow like kyber, among them the Jedis weapon built by Anakin Skywalker that Obi-Wan Kenobi handed over to Luke before it was thought lost (along with Lukes right hand) during Vader and sons duel on Bespin in The Empire Strikes Back.This is the so-called Skywalker Lightsaberkept by Maz Kanata that beckoned to Rey in The Force Awakens, the saber that binds the Skywalker family and the Star Warsfranchise in a bolt of blue. Every saber in this auction has countless stories attached to it, whether itsKylo Rens so-called crossguard lightsaber from The Last Jedi,Darth Mauls saberstaff famously wielded in The Phantom Menace,orthe shared stunt saber used by General Leia and Rey in The Rise of Skywalker. Each is more than just a prop from a movie; each holds the weight of an elegant weapon for a more civilized age. Then again, so too isthe limited-edition Mandalorianpinball machine. As a wise man likes to say, This is the way. To learn more, visit www.HA.com.