An actor who played bounty hunter Boba Fett in the 1997 special edition of “Star Wars: A New Hope” is none too happy with Disney changing the name of Boba Fett’s starship from “Slave I” to just “Boba Fett’s starship.”
The actor, Mark Anthony Austin, took to Twitter to air out his criticism of the name change.
“My ship will forever be Slave1. Nothing. Not even #disney can or will change that. This is the way,” tweeted Austin on June 28.
In another tweet, he also stated that Disney would say that the term “wars” sounds too harsh and that the media company should change the name to “Star Disputes.”
“I’m coming for you Disney execs!!!” tweeted Austin.
The news of the name change first came out in an article from “Jedi News.” The article covered the release of the latest LEGO’s version of Fett’s iconic ship from the Disney+ series “The Mandalorian.” The release of the play set was announced at last month’s LEGO Fan Media Days.
During the event, James Burns from “Jedi News” asked the LEGO “Star Wars” team, Jens Kronvold Frederiksen and Michael Lee Stockwell about the name change. Stockwell said that they would no longer call the ship “Slave I.” Burns inquired if the “Slave I” name was being dropped and Frederiksen confirmed it.
“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,” said Frederiksen, a design director for the “Star Wars” team.
According to an article about the ship’s name change from “Newsweek,” Disney has been working to acknowledge the stereotypes in its films and other works.
Films such as Peter Pan, Dumbo, and The Aristocrats have been given restrictions under the Disney+ platform due to containing racial stereotypes and depictions. The article also explained that according to Disney’s “Stories Matter” website, the restrictions are used to “review its library and add advisories to content that includes “negative depictions or mistreatment of people or cultures.”
Along with the iconic Mandalorian armor wearing bounty hunter, Slave I made its debut in “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back” when he was chasing Han Solo across the galaxy. The ship was also seen in the “Star Wars: Attack of the Clones” under the ownership of Boba Fett’s father Jango Fett. The ship was recently seen in the second season of “The Mandalorian” Disney+ series.
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