Boba Fett’s Starship Is New Name For Bounty Hunter’s Craft
Call it what you will, but Disney is going with “Boba Fett’s Starship”….
Of course, it’s caused a little bit of a kerfuffle on the Web, but it seems “Slave I” may soon be no more.
No, calm down. Please. The ship itself is still intact. But the name has changed.
Although it is not uttered in a movie, canon (a few) and non-canon references (lots more) refer to Boba Fett’s craft by the malicious moniker. However, obvious reasons suggest that changing the name, especially on children’s toys makes good sense. Although I will admit it, I never liked the name.
Background on Boba Fett
Back when Boba was introduced, and not knowing about the animated debut of the bounty hunter in the Star Wars Holiday Special, my first meeting with the “barve” was when he showed up in a non-descript box after sending in the requisite number of Kenner proof-of-purchase symbols off the card backs of several Star Wars figures.
Then there he was. Unworking rocket pack in the back, and the coolest-looking figure to date.
Was he Darth Vader’s brother? Did he have something to do with Obi-Wan? Rumors around the figure swirled.
So much so, that when he arrived on Cloud City and merely took Han Solo away from our heroes, albeit wearing a really cool suit, it was a little bit of a letdown.
Fett Merchandise
However, that didn’t stop me from asking for and receiving any number of Boba Fett items.
Chief among those items was the original “Slave I” ship by Kenner. Which, by the way, was not intuitive in terms of its working. You had to “pull” a trigger so that Boba could “fly” with his ailerons in the proper configuration. Recall, this was pre-home-video (for most folks), so if you didn’t remember exactly how Fett’s ship flew, you didn’t have a clue in what direction to point the toy (at least until the movie was re-released or your rich friend down the street got a laser disk player).
And, until the second season of The Mandalorian, most fans had no idea exactly how the inside of the ship and crew compartment worked (as it was not shown in The Empire Strikes Back or Attack of the Clones).
But I digress…
Boba Fett: A Bad Guy?
Again, I never liked the name, as I never assumed Boba Fett was a villain and, even at that early age (6-7) I understood slavery to be evil (even though I am certain I didn’t know what it actually was, historically, in the real world).
And, speaking to the character’s motivation, Fett did not freeze Han Solo, he was simply tracking and delivering Captain Solo to someone whom Han had wronged. And, he was the first character — besides Princess Leia and Moff Tarkin, I suppose — who talked back to Darth Vader.
Lastly, there was begrudging respect between Fett and Vader in the discourse between “No disintegrations!” and “He’s no good to me dead…”
Was Boba Fett a good guy? No. But was he a bad guy?
I am reminded of Wreck-It Ralph:
Boba’s M.O.
Moreover, Fett’s motivations were never obvious in the Original Trilogy and remained opaque until we saw Mace Windu cut off his dad’s head.
Then, in The Clone Wars, watching his development from scared, sad kid to full-fledged bounty hunter, it was never easy to quantify Fett as purely evil – particularly when the unfilmed battle between Boba and Cad Bane is taken into account.
And, there’s always the questionable morality of the Jedi using Boba’s brothers as cannon fodder.
In any case, this a long way of saying I understand why Disney would go away from the name “Slave I” in the same way that “Slave Leia” became “Huttslayer” (as pointed out on BobaFettFanClub.com).
Looking Ahead
And, it might just make sense that Boba’s ship no longer be “Slave I” because he and Fennec Shand could be taking a turn similar to that of The Mandalorian, turning away from bounty hunting and heading fast toward anti-hero (and possibly a good guy).
After all, they did help save Baby Yoda.
Over at BobaFettFanClub.com Aaron Proctor points out:
Another possibility could be related to Boba’s transformation in “The Mandalorian.” Maybe the new name is like his new coat of paint.
I would also point out, that perhaps “Boba Fett’s Starship” is a precursor to a new name, purposely not included on toys or marketing until The Book of Boba Fett arrives later this year.
Remember, there will certainly be new Star Wars toys being sold prior to the drop date of the Book of Boba Fett in December.
In the end, call it what you want. Boba Fett’s ship is cool either way (and StarWars.com still uses both naming conventions).
BTW: Don’t forget to check out Boba Fett’s Starship and the rest of the new LEGO Star Wars offerings.
Feature Image: Disney