What's really going on with the bounty hunters?

It was inevitable that the Star Wars the galaxy would change after the fall of the Empire, but a big change is genuinely surprising: It appears that the Bounty Hunters' Guild is on the brink of collapse. However Star Wars The narrative of the New Republic era has been mostly confined to Disney+, it is no less grand. The galaxy's main conflict may no longer be focused on the Rebellion against the Empire, but there is still plenty of danger.

Bounty hunters and pirates have taken control of most of the Star Wars Narrative of the New Republic, by Din Djarin and Greef Karga in The MandalorianFennec Shand and Boba Fett in The Book of Boba Fettand Jod Na Nawood and other pirates like The Mandalorian'is Vane in Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. Then Why is the Bounty Hunters Guild apparently struggling to maintain its ranks despite the galaxy's power vacuum? After all, the Imperial Remnant is still hiding in the shadows.

Star Wars' latest bounty hunter threw shade at the guild

Bounty hunters have been a reference Star Wars telling stories from the beginning - that's why we were officially introduced to Boba Fett in The Empire Strikes Back – but the concept of the Bounty Hunters Guild didn't become truly significant until shows like The Mandalorian and Star Wars: The Bad Batch came along. While the Guild's rules are still somewhat vague, we know they follow a specific code that promotes professionalism, initiates must complete a bounty before being admitted, and there are different ranks and levels that bounty hunters can achieve.

Interestingly, though, it appears that some prominent bounty hunters are tired of the Guild's rules. In Star Wars: Skeleton Crew episode 5, "You've Got a Lot to Learn About Pirates", a new bounty hunter named Pokkit approaches Jod Na Nawood - although she knows him by another alias, Dash Zentin - and tells him what she's been up to since he left her “drown in a pit of leeches.” She explains that she left the Bounty Hunters' Guild and now works for a private client, having avoided the “Low cost jobs at the Guild” she was submitted.

This suggests that Pokkit – and perhaps other affiliated members of the Guild – are tired of the Guild's strict regulations and low wages.and are possibly trying to strike on their own. Pokkit is working for a private client and probably making a lot more money, and she's not the only bounty hunter who has left the Guild behind for good.

Din Djarin now also works for exclusive clients

The Mandalorian'Din Djarin was also a member of the Guild. Famously, of course, this is how he developed his alliance with Greef Karga and found and protected young Grogu when he realized that the remnants of the Empire were after him for nefarious experiments. Din has since also officially left the Guild behind, choosing to focus on his time with Grogu and finding a more stable – though perhaps not necessarily safer – way to earn an income.

Din Djarin has changed his life so much that he now works as what can only be described as an independent contractor for the New Republic. While we haven't seen him in action in this role yet, we'll no doubt see more when The Mandalorian and Grogu is finally released in theaters. Din and Grogu have settled on Nevarro, leaving the dangerous and demanding world of the Bounty Hunters' Guild behind.

Even Greef Karga left the bounty hunting trade

Alongside Din Djarin, Greef Karga also abandoned the Guild, although his departure was perhaps even more dramatic than that of Din or Pokkit. After all, Greef was a Guild Master, a leader of the Bounty Hunters Guild and head of the Nevarro Hunters. He killed his bounty hunters to save Din, Grogu and Cara Dune in The Mandalorian season 1, eventually assuming the position of High Magistrate for Nevarro, transforming the previously lawless planet into a respectable trading post and haven for families.

Of course, in Din and Greef's cases, they left the Guild for personal reasons – neither of them could handle the work anymore and decided to do something more fulfilling with their lives. Din took Grogu in and cared for him as his own, and Greef built a school and changed Nevarro for the better. Pokkit, however, was undoubtedly angered by the Guild's hierarchy and low-paying jobs, opting to work for a private client.

The fact that these bounty hunters chose to leave the Guild speaks volumes. Hunters appear to be losing trust in the Guild processopting to strike out on their own once they've earned a strong enough reputation or abandon the life of a bounty hunter altogether. What does this mean for the future of bounty hunting as a profession? At the very least, the Guild operates under a strict code. If everything falls apart and the galaxy's rewards become free for everyone, will everyone really be better off in the long run? Star Wars?

New episodes of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew airs Tuesdays exclusively on Disney+.