Each year, thousands of cosplayers make the pilgrimage to San Diego’s Comic-Con with their homemade costumes in tow, ready to mingle with others who share their interests. And at nine years old, Jordan Vallesteros of Northern California—known to his fans as “Mini Boba Fett”—may be the youngest veteran of the convention. He already has a network of Con friends he and his parents meet up with during the annual extravaganza, and the pint-sized bounty hunter has a difficult time navigating the convention floor without a stray Stormtrooper or Disney princess approaching for a photo.
This year, Jordan met up with VanityFair.com to discuss his interest in cosplay and how his father James, a Microsoft engineer and Star Wars fanatic, encouraged his love for the sci-fi franchise by creating a bespoke costume in the likeness of his favorite character.
“I just always loved the Boba Fett movies,” explained Jordan, who will begin fifth grade this fall, of his fascination with the character. “He looks so cool with his armor. He has a lot of weapons.”
Jordan’s interest in cosplay began about four years ago when the family attended a fan convention in Seattle. At the time, Jordan had a store-bought Boba Fett costume. But after seeing how interested his son was in the convention’s cosplayers, James used spare time after long work shifts to create a much cooler Boba Fett outfit—complete with battery-pack-operated flashing lights, molded plastic helmet, and a loose, comfortable lining to make long convention walks easy.
“He already outgrew the first and second costume I made,” laughed James, who is a Stormtrooper in the 501st Legion, a fan-based organization devoted to creating and wearing replica costumes. “I always loved Star Wars growing up. I was an 80s kid so Star Wars was my thing. I introduced it to [Jordan] and he loves it as much as I do.”
Fellow cosplayers aren’t the only people impressed by Jordan’s costume though.
“We got to meet the original Boba Fett, Jeremy Bulloch, at a celebration in Anaheim last year,” said James. “We also met Daniel Logan, who played young Boba Fett in Episode II.” Even John Boyega, who played Finn in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, was so impressed by the costume that the British actor singled out Jordan at last year’s D23 convention in Anaheim, California.
Now if that Boba Fett standalone film ever happens, we know of one bounty hunter in training who would be eager for a walk on.
