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Disney Drops ‘Slave 1’ Name on Lego’s Boba Fett ‘Star Wars’ Ship

The name of the ship, which appeared in the films and on 'The Mandalorian,' remains on the official 'Star Wars' Databank, however.

June 29, 2021 7:47am

Temuera Morrison as Boba Fett in 'The Mandalorian.' Everett Collection

Disney is dropping the name Slave 1 from Boba Fett’s classic Star Wars ship — at least on a Lego product.

The ship was first introduced on the big screen in The Empire Strikes Back and seen again in the prequel, Attack of the Clones, before appearing in season two of The Mandalorian. And the name of the ship still appears in the Star Wars Databank, the official reference guide for the franchise.

On a new Lego set, the ship is now titled “Boba Fett’s starship,” as first reported by the Star Wars fan site, Jedi News. Jens Kronvold Frederiksen, Lego Star Wars design director, told the site that Disney asked the name be changed for the latest model. Neither Disney nor Lego responded to a request for additional comment. The Lego Boba Fett Starship goes on sale Aug. 1.

Disney has taken several steps to rebrand or alter a number of products and theme park attractions after criticism over dated and racist stereotypes, such as an overhaul of the Splash Mountain and Jungle Cruise rides.

And Mandalorian star Gina Carano was fired in February over controversial social media posts, with Lucasfilm saying at the time that “her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable.”

Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Chapek said of the firing that Disney stands “for values that are universal: Values of respect, values of decency, values of integrity and values of inclusion. And we seek to have the content that we make reflective of the rich diversity of the world we live in. And I think that’s a world we should all live in harmony and peace.”

As for the Boba Fett ship name change, there was some backlash on social media from those who do not like franchise alterations, which included Mark Anthony Austin, one of several actors who played the bounty hunter character in the original trilogy. “My ship will forever be Slave1. Nothing. Not even #disney can or will change that. This is the way,” tweeted Austin.

The Slave 1 name has been the subject of commentary for some time. In 2008, Billy Dee Williams, in reprising his character Lando Calrissian for the Cartoon Network satire Robot Chicken, said: “I have to say, Boba, this is one beauty of a ship. Not crazy about the name, though.”

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Mark Anthony Austin @BobaFettANHSE

https://twitter.com/BobaFettANHSE/status/1409343754285109248