Disney has decided to give Boba Fett's ship a more family-friendly name. Starting with the upcoming sale of the new LEGO Star Wars toy, it will henceforth be known as Boba Fett's Starship - as opposed to its former and potentially controversial name, "Slave I."
In the Star Wars Universe, Boba Fett is a lawless bounty hunter and low-down scoundrel whose bad-boy appeal strikes a chord with those who are fans of anti-heroes like Tony Montana (Al Pacino) from Scarface or Walter White (Bryan Cranston) from Breaking Bad. The Slave I originally belonged to Boba's father figure/DNA donor, Jango Fett. Boba was a clone of Jango's, but held a special place in his heart which made him treat him like a son. Boba informally inherited the ship from his father after Jango was brutally murdered in front of him.
When asked about dropping the "Slave I" in a recent interview with Jedi News, Jens Kronvold Frederiksen, LEGO Star Wars design director, had this to say:
"Everybody is. It's probably not something which has been announced publicly but it is just something that Disney doesn't want to use anymore."
This is not the first name change Disney has done with Star Wars merchandise, having retired Leia Organa's "Slave Leia" costume from Return of the Jedi a few years ago too. Disney is marketing the LEGO starship to a younger demographic - not necessarily to the adult fans who might hem and haw over the rechristening of the vessel for one with a different name. For now, LEGO fans young and old will be able to get their hands on the newly-dubbed Boba Fett's Starship starting August 1.