LEGO News site Brickfanatics reported, earlier this weekend, that according to LEGO design director Jens Kronvold Frederiksen, Disney has requested a name change for Boba Fett’s ship, “Slave I,” though designers did not say specifically why.
“One of the new LEGO Star Wars sets revealed at LEGO CON is named a little differently than it has been in the past, with Disney helming the name change,” Brickfanatics reported. “LEGO Star Wars 75312 Boba Fett’s Starship might not carry the name that builders have recognized since its introduction in The Empire Strikes Back, ditching the Slave I moniker for a more generic title.”
Boba Fett first appeared in “The Empire Strikes Back,” the second installment (but fifth “episode) of the original Star Wars trilogy. After years of speculation, the Disney+ series, “The Mandalorian” revealed that Fett, who supposedly died in the next film, Return of the Jedi, in fact, lived through an ordeal on the planet Tatooine.
His ship, “Slave I” appears in both “The Empire Strikes Back” and “The Mandalorian” and is likely to feature prominently in the character’s own eponymous series, “The Book of Boba Fett.”
But the iconic ship will, LEGO designers said in an interview, likely bear a different name because “it is just something that Disney doesn’t want to use anymore.”
Jens: Then, the next one, also from The Mandalorian, is Boba Fett’s Starship.
Michael: Yes, I built another. We’re not calling it Slave I any more. This is Boba Fett’s Starship.
James: OK, why are we dropping the Slave I name?
Jens: Everybody is. It’s probably not something which has been announced publicly but it is just something that Disney doesn’t want to use any more.
LEGO’s designers did not speculate as to why Disney dropped the “Slave I” name, but Brickfanatics suggested that Disney has committed to an overhaul of some of the more outdated concepts in the Star Wars universe.
“We can imagine that Disney isn’t attracted to the unique name of the ship with their audience of all ages and we’ll have to see if this decision is reflected in the movies as well as merchandise,” the outlet said.
Disney has been engaged in something of a “political correctness” campaign across multi-media properties, warning parents that some of the company’s older films contain racial stereotypes (and putting those films off limits to Disney+ users under 7 years old), “updating” classic films like “The Little Mermaid” and “Snow White” with multicultural casts, and refurbishing its theme park rides to rid them of stereotypes and problematic references.
At one point, Disney reportedly sought to pull “Slave Leia” merchandise from store shelves, featuring Carrie Fisher’s own iconic character in a “metal bikini” costume she wore in “Return of the Jedi.” Those plans appear to have been scrapped. The company did, however, fire actress Gina Carano from “The Mandalorian” after she posted conservative messages on social media. Carano is now pursuing a project with The Daily Wire.