‘Star Wars’ prompts fan backlash for removing ‘Slave-1’ ship name
“Star Wars” fans are outraged — again — over a decision to remove the “Slave-1” name from one of their iconic space cruisers.
Disney has quietly dropped the moniker — which some fans consider canon to the franchise — from the ship that belongs to intergalactic bounty hunter Boba Fett.
The change came to light with LEGO’s latest “Star Wars” build, a 478-piece set to create Boba Fett’s “Starship,” as it’s now dubbed.
“We’re not calling it ‘Slave I’ anymore,” said LEGO “Star Wars” lead designer Michael Lee Stockwell, Jedi News reported. “Everybody is [dropping the name],” he added, apparently referring to Disney studios.
“It’s probably not something which has been announced publicly, but it is just something that Disney doesn’t want to use anymore,” Stockwell explained.
For their part, Disney has not yet confirmed the change officially, nor has it stated a reason for the swap. Representatives from Lucasfilm Ltd. and Disney did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Post.
However, according to the Daily Mail, the company has held regular meetings with various advocacy groups to get their help in flagging possibly offensive material on Disney+, its streaming service that launched in 2019.
Meanwhile, an earlier version of the same toy is still currently being sold with the “Slave-1” ship name in stores such as Amazon.
Hyper-devoted “Star Wars” fans are notorious for causing a stink over revisions and updates to their beloved brand. In this case, even former stars of the films — namely Mark Anthony Austin, who portrayed Boba Fett in 1977’s “Star Wars: A New Hope” — are expressing their chagrin.
“My ship will forever be Slave1,” wrote Austin on Twitter. “Nothing. Not even #disney can or will change that.”
“This is the way,” he added, in a tweet that has received support from 4,500 users so far on the platform.
Shown hugging a model of the ship, Austin also said, “You’ll always be Slave1 to me!” followed by five red heart emojis.