Things change, times change, babies never change. If you missed the news, Star Wars has changed the name of Boba Fett’s ship from Slave I to Firespray. If you don’t know why the change was made, it’s because of the connotation of the word “slave”. Yes, Disney wants to avoid controversy with their products, and a name like Slave I was controversial for some.
So, what does this mean going forward? It means that you’ll no longer hear Slave I, see Slave I written on promotional material, or buy anything with the words Slave I on it going forward. Sure, you’ll still be able to get the Power of the Force 2 version of Slave I on eBay with the original box, but nothing official from Disney.
But what does it really mean going forward? It means that people are either going to have to adapt to it, or they can just stop enjoying Boba Fett. This comes down to the fact that the man is more than just his ship. Is his ship awesome? Hell yes it is. But what makes his appearances in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett as cool? Why did you think Boba Fett was the awesome villain that you wanted to learn more about from his appearance in Empire Strikes Back? Was it just the name of his ship? Because I can guarantee that whenever you saw Empire Strikes Back, you didn’t know the name of his ship.
Boba Fett is cool because he’s got great character design, the armor, the western-cowboy connection, and plenty more. If you change the name of the ship, does that make him a worse character?
No It Doesn’t Because Characters Like Boba Fett Undergo Change
If you’ve been watching The Book of Boba Fett, it’s showing the change that people undergo throughout their life in response to events. Boba Fett was trapped in the Sarlacc Pit as a bounty hunter, and he came out changed already. That change continued with his experiences with the Tusken Raiders on the Dune Sea of Tatooine. So in the storyline, it makes perfect sense for him to change the name of his ship. Is he a bounty hunter anymore? No! So why would someone who’s trying to rule with respect and compassion for their fellow person want to have a ship called the Slave I?
In real life, it comes down to caring for another person besides your own. If you’re uncomfortable about the name change, imagine how uncomfortable someone else whose ancestry involves slavery feels about it. It doesn’t hurt anyone by changing the name of the ship. They didn’t go and paint the ship like a clown car. It doesn’t all of a sudden change the fundamental design, shape, or function of the ship to call it the Firespray. That name is more fitting of Boba Fett’s current character than Slave I.
For the people who are going to comment “But the ship is a Firespray class ship! That can’t be the name it would be like calling a Ford Mustang “Mustang”!” Well, Firespray is the classification of the ship, you’re 100% correct. So, that could be a name that Temuera Morrison chose because they were throwing it around on set. Either way, the dude plays Boba Fett, played Jango Fett, and knows his stuff about Star Wars. I’m more apt to listen to him than most people on the matter.
Call It What YOU Want, It’s Not Slave I Anymore
I love slippery slope logical fallacies as much as the next person. But this change doesn’t mean that everything you know and love about Star Wars is crumbling underneath you. Han Solo is still Han Solo. The Millennium Falcon is still the Falcon. Your childhood memories of wanting to be Boba Fett, imagining adventures with Boba Fett, reading Tales Of The Bounty Hunters, or any other Boba Fett activity is still intact.
‘Breathe’
It’s just a name change, not a legacy change.
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You’re not exactly being the more mature person in the room if you start off by to call others babies either…
It’s a pretty simple solution, just have Slave One have been a code name he used on one mission. Say Boba and Krrsantan use the name to move in close on some Trandsoian slavers, then kill them and free the Wookiee slaves.
Then reveal the ship has had dozens of names before and after. It’s just that Slave One was one of it’s more widely known names that formed the basis of its legend, because freeing slaves is more likely to get retold.
Good solution, wish I thought of it.