Disney Renames Boba Fett's Ship Name To Remove Racist Connotations
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LEGO Star Wars Slave 1 toys will be called something else from now on. It's reported that Disney has asked LEGO to rename Boba Fett's famous ship due to racist connotations.
The news was broken by Jedi News, but neither Disney or LEGO have confirmed this yet. What we do know is that the upcoming new Slave 1 LEGO Star Wars set will be called something else.
The updated version of the toy, which comes on 1st August, will be called Boba Fett's Starship rather than Slave 1.
Why has the Slave 1 set been renamed?
When asked why LEGO has renamed the famous Star Wars vessel, Jens Kronvold Frederiksen, LEGO Star Wars Design Director, told Jedi News: "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."
ComicBook has speculated that the decision could be down to racist connotations linked to the word "slave". Since the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, lots of brands have phased out terminology which has ties to racism and slavery.
This isn't the first time a name has been dropped from the Star Wars franchise due to problematic language. In 2017, Leia Organa's "Slave Leia" costume from Return of the Jedi was retired from merchandise shortly after fans linked it to sexist and objectifying roots.
Equally, the outlet said it could be the launch of The Book of Boba Fett on Disney+ later this year which has triggered the rebrand. With the new series coming, Boba Fett is likely to become a household name and therefore renaming the LEGO ship is a marketing move to make it more recognisable to fans of the new TV series.
Boba Fett actor says changing the name is "idiocy"
Taking to Twitter, Mark Austin, the actor who played Boba Fett in the special edition of A New Hope, posted a series of tweets to his 11,000 followers about the name change.
He suggested that if Disney were going to rename Boba Fett's Slave 1 starship, then why not also have "Star Disputes" and "Starfighter Leia" too.
He said: "This #disney idiocy [...] Not buying it. Not conforming to the Mouse, no siree. Not gonna happen. When I was growing up I loved #disney. No more."
When applying for personalized plates for my car the DMV would not allow "Slave1". Okay I understand. Had to try. But I get it.
- Mark Anthony Austin (@BobaFettANHSE) June 28, 2021
This #disney idiocy however. Not buying it. Not conforming to the Mouse, no siree. Not gonna happen.
When I was growing up I loved #disney. No more. pic.twitter.com/9076VcIiwN
"You have to consider who's ship it is. A bounty hunter. A hunter of dangerous targets. Somebody like that imbues mystery, darkness and brooding.... Slave1 is a perfect name for such a character's spaceship. It too imbues a dark and ominous threat to be feared by any fugitive," he said in another tweet.
I hope nobody buys this newly misnamed merchandise. I vow to not give a single dollar myself. Now if it's packaged Slave1 I might.... pic.twitter.com/z2ttPE7P6U
- Mark Anthony Austin (@BobaFettANHSE) June 28, 2021
The Book of Boba Fett release date
As the name suggests, this spin-off from The Mandalorian focusses on Boba Fett, the masked bounty hunter who captured Han Solo in The Empire Strikes Back.
"The Book of Boba Fett will be set within the timeline of The Mandalorian and star Temuera Morrison as the titular bounty hunter, along with Ming-Na Wen as Fennec Shand," confirmed Starwars.
It's due to be released exclusively on Disney+ in December 2021.
