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This article covers the Canon version of this subject.  Click here for Wookieepedia's article on the Legends version of this subject. 
This article is about the explosives. You may be looking for the drink.

"Because he's holding a thermal detonator!"
C-3PO speaks in fear of the threat of a thermal detonator[5]

Thermal detonators were palm-sized, spherical devices that were used as extremely deadly explosive weapons.

Description[]

A military-grade weapon, the thermal detonator was a grenade-like explosive that held a great amount of power for a small sphere[3] that fit within someone's palm.[5] In addition to being surprisingly powerful for their size, they could only be deactivated by whomever turned them on.[11] They would only explode when they were activated, and therefore a secure and stable weapon to carry.[12] They could also be programmed to explode after a set amount of time.[6]

Most thermal detonators contained baradium, a highly unstable chemical compound that could blow a two-meter-deep hole in pure permacite. The chemical compound was so unstable that, in certain situations, some detonators have exploded after being accidentally dropped to the ground. This, was due to them having been exposed to too much heat or manipulated harshly. The power of the thermal detonator made it highly sought-after in the criminal underground, which made its price climb to 2,000 credits on the black market.[6]

History[]

"There's two kinds of people in this galaxy! Those with live thermal detonators, and those without! I trust you boys can do the math."
―Caij Vanda threatens Cal Kestis and Boba Fett[13]

Throughout the galaxy, thermal detonators were used by militaries and bounty hunters.[3] All the same, their usage was heavily regulated, and owning one illegally could earn its owner the capital punishment in many star systems.[6] The clone troopers of the Republic Military carried N-20 Baradium-core thermal detonators on their persona via the belts of their clone trooper armor.[7] Clones also had access to Class-A thermal detonators for use,[14] as did the B1-series battle droids[8] and BX-series droid commandos of the Separatist Droid Army.[15]

Cad Bane thermal detonator

Cad Bane throws a Class-A thermal detonator

The Duros bounty hunter Cad Bane carried thermal detonators.[9] The stormtroopers of the Galactic Empire used thermal detonators,[3] with stormtrooper armor retaining the N-20 detonator[16] also once carried by the clone troopers.[3] The bounty hunter Caij Vanda carried a thermal detonator on her person.[13] In 9 BBY,[17] Vanda found herself cornered by fellow bounty hunter Boba Fett, who was hunting her for a bounty on her head, and surviving Jedi Knight Cal Kestis, whom she had just betrayed in an effort to claim his own bounty. Vanda threatened both men by pulling out her thermal detonator, but Kestis managed to use the Force to tear it from her grasp and threw it away before it exploded.[13]

Princess Leia Organa, disguised as the bounty hunter Boushh, threatened the crime lord Jabba the Hutt with a Class-A thermal detonator in order to negotiate a deal.[5] The pirate gang called the Warbird gang use the thermal detonators to lure out the jakoosk to hunt it down, and feed the people of the Colossus.[10]

Weapon-stub This article is a stub about a weapon. You can help Wookieepedia by expanding it.

Behind the scenes[]

"We rewired the [thermal detonator's] electronics in our shop to behave the way [showrunner and director] Deborah Chow wanted it to work in the scene. It was far more efficient to use the actual merchandise, than to resculpt, remold, and repaint something new."
―Brad Elliott[18]
ThermalDetonatorProp

Hero version of the thermal detonator prop used by Tala Durith in Obi-Wan Kenobi

Thermal detonators first appeared in the 1977 film Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, the first installment of the Star Wars original trilogy.[16] They were first identified in the 1983 film Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, the final installment of the trilogy.[5]

In the Obi-Wan Kenobi television series, the thermal detonator used by Tala Durith took inspiration from the one held by Leia Organa in Return of the Jedi. Propmaster Brad Elliott bought a Master Replicas thermal detonator and then dismantled it. His team rewired the electronics to behave the way director Deborah Chow wanted it to work in the series. Elliott found that using real merchandise was more efficient than having to resculpt, remold, and repaint something new.[18] The hero version was interactive and could light up.[19]

Appearances[]

Non-canon appearances[]

Sources[]

Notes and references[]

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