The ship itself is a Firespray-31-class patrol and attack craft, a stolen and repurposed patrol ship from prison moon Oovo 4, manufactured on the planet Kuat. Yet, akin to the stoic Boba himself, the Slave I’s unconventionally ominous, prawn-shaped aesthetics managed to become the stuff of Star Wars legends even before its capabilities were first demonstrated onscreen in Attack of the Clones, notably with the devastating seismic charges used against Obi-Wan’s pursuing ship; a weapon that would see successful use on The Mandalorian. However, the name Slave I was never really given a full explanation in any iteration of the canon, and just seemed generally evocative of Boba’s status as an amoral space pirate of sorts. Thus, the essence of the ship itself—and the 40+ years’ worth of legend it spawned in live-action offerings and on Star Wars: The Clone Wars—is not intrinsically attached to the now-nixed name. However, “Boba Fett’s Starship” is clearly not a feasible thing to call such a celebrated vessel, especially as it is set to enjoy what will likely become its most prominent presence yet on The Book of Boba Fett.
Accordingly, the LEGO set is likely brandishing a placeholder title so as to not spoil upcoming plans. Naturally, the name-nixing has already perturbed purists, since angry reactions (and angry push-backs to those reactions,) to alterations—often to things considered sacrosanct by the fandom—in response to changing social or political tides is par for the course of the contemporary news cycle. Even a former portrayer of Boba Fett, Mark Anthony Austin, who briefly played the character in the retroactively-inserted Mos Eisley cameo in the 1997 Special Edition of A New Hope, tweeted his displeasure, stating, “My ship will forever be Slave1.” However, Disney’s move in this particular instance was proactive, since it was not so much a response to any specific blowback against the ship’s long-running name as it was likely designed to get ahead of the prospectively problematic notion of having to refer to Boba’s famous ride as Slave I on The Book of Boba Fett, on which the actual name of the eponymous character’s ship will have to leave the lips of someone occasionally, breaking live-action precedence.
That said, the task of trying to guess what—if anything—Boba Fett’s Slave I will ultimately be renamed is a fool’s errand, since we know next to nothing right now. While it’s possible that Disney could simply engage in the brute-force retcon strategy of just giving the ship a different name without any explanation, The Book of Boba Fett does provide an opportunity to compromise on this front. Indeed, since the series—having been spun off from The Mandalorian—takes place over five years after Return of the Jedi, it’s in an advantageously undeveloped position on the canonical Star Wars timeline for a poignant, plot-driven explanation in which Boba simply renames his ship. It’s a development—especially if said explanation is believable—that just might become acceptable to both sides of the Slave I issue.
We’ll likely have to wait for The Book of Boba Fett to see how the Slave I controversy fully pans out. The series, starring Temuera Morrison’s Boba Fett and Ming-Na Wen’s Fennec Shan, is currently scheduled to premiere on Disney+ this December.
