Recently, the LEGO company in partnership with Disney decided to drop the name Slave I for the LEGO set of Boba Fett's ship.
Now some Star Wars fans are losing it.
Since Disney integrated the Star Wars universe into their own, fans worried "Disneyfying" the franchise would ruin the magic they know and love. Certain die-hard fans continued their outrage over changes to the decades old film franchise.
In an interview with Jedi News, LEGO Star Wars Design Director Jens Kronvold Frederiksen and LEGO Star Wars Lead Designer Michael Lee Stockwell explained the name is changing, but they're just the first ones to do it officially.
In other words, they want the sometimes toxic fanbase to know LEGO is not driving the change.
In the past, widespread misogyny, homophobia and racism among mostly White male fans who feel entitled to keep the Star Wars universe mostly cisgender White, male and heterosexual drove actors of color and women off social media with their constant harassment.
Stockwell said:
"We're not calling it Slave I any more. This is Boba Fett's Starship."
Kronvold continued:
"Everybody is [dropping the name]. It's probably not something which has been announced publicly but it is just something that Disney doesn't want to use any more."
Though the team changed the name to Boba Fett's Starship on the LEGO box, it remains on the official Star Wars website.
Mark Anthony Austin was credited as the actor who voiced Boba Fett in the 1997 special edition rerdlease version of Star Wars: A New Hope. Austin—who wasn't affiliated with the original version of the film—recently tweeted multiple times about his outrage on the change in ship name.
Other fans like Austin posted similar sentiments.
Austin also called Disney "bullies."
He said they're only making the change for profit.
But many people say Austin and other fans are blowing this way out of proportion.
@McGirlGal/Twitter; @jonescarl/Twitter
This isn't the first time Disney has taken action to update their franchise to modern times. Disney phased out the term "Slave Leia" and her bikini outfit from merchandising.
They also recently fired Mandalorian actress Gina Carano after a series of social media posts she made including equating being a Republican today to being Jewish during the Holocaust.
Just like Austin, Carano also called them bullies.
This doesn't seem like it will be the last time Disney makes changes to the space opera that is Star Wars. Until fans like Austin get the money to buy the franchise rights, it looks like they'll have to learn to live with the changes or take their old toys and go home.
Jane Rosenberg
Jane Rosenberg
