‘Star Wars’ Quietly Debuts New Name For Boba Fett’s Starship

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Boba Fett with explosion in background

Credit: Lucasfilm

Earlier this year, Star Wars caused uproar in the fandom when it quietly replaced the name of Boba Fett’s Slave I to Boba Fett’s Starship. The name change came from an upcoming LEGO release which titled the ship not as the name it has become known as over the years but simply as Boba Fett’s Starship.

Neither Lucasfilm nor Disney had confirmed that this would be the ship’s official title moving forward, but once again, Star Wars has updated Slave I name, and you probably didn’t even notice.

Boba Fett
Credit: Lucasfilm

Related: “Star Wars” Boba Fett Movie Canceled

Slave I first appeared in the Star Wars Universe in the original trilogy movie, Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980), after the bounty hunter tracks Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and the crew of the Millennium Falcon to Cloud City with Darth Vader (David Prowse). With Boba Fett cementing himself as a cult fan-favorite of the Star Wars Saga, by association, so did his starship.

Fett’s ship got its own origin story somewhat in George Lucas’s prequel trilogy when Obi-Wan Kenobi tracks Boba’s father, Jango Fett (Temuera Morrison), to the planet Kamino and subsequently discovers the Republic’s burgeoning clone army.

Slave I on Kamino
Credit: Lucasfilm

Director Robert Rodriguez brought Boba back to Star Wars in his episode of The Mandalorian Season 2, “Chapter 14: The Tragedy”. The Battle of Tython proved not only momentous in terms of its plot — Grogu contacting the Jedi, the dark troopers attack, and lots of bounty hunter action — but also for the greater Star Wars galaxy when Boba Fett finally made his dramatic return.

While Disney and Star Wars have left names pretty much alone since the Mouse House acquired Lucasfilm in 2012, as we noted previously, it is telling that the name Slave I was not mentioned when Boba Fett and his starship were last on our screens.

Fennec shand, Boba Fett, and Din Djarin
Credit: Lucasfilm

Related: All the Rumors About ‘The Book of Boba Fett’

It seems now that Star Wars has confirmed that they will drop the use of Slave I and instead opt for the name Firespray for Boba Fett’s Starship.

In a press release via ScreenRant, the new name was revealed:

Boba Fett's starship
Credit: StarWars.com

The War of the Bounty Hunters continues to explode across the galaxy this September! The action-packed crossover is currently unfolding across all of Marvel’s ongoing Star Wars titles as well as a main WAR OF THE BOUNTY HUNTERS limited series and character-focused one-shots. The hunt for Han Solo has brought out the underworld’s most dangerous hunters and acclaimed Star Wars artist Paolo Villanelli’s new BOUNTY HUNTER SHIP BLUEPRINT VARIANT COVERS dynamically depicts them alongside their legendary ships. Fans can see the following characters and vehicles on variant covers throughout September:

·         Bossk and The Hound’s Tooth

·         Boba Fett and Firespray

·         IG-88 and IG-2000

·         Zuckuss and The Mist Hunter

·         Valance Beilert and The Broken Wing

·         Dengar and The Punishing One

Boba Fett, Din Djarin, and Fennec Shand on tython
Credit: Lucasfilm

While Boba’s ship is a Firespray-31-class attack and patrol craft, the use of the term Firespray on these Star Wars variants covers alongside other official names is quite telling that Disney, Star Wars, and Marvel Comics — who produce and publish the official Star Wars comic book series — are opting to use this name instead of Slave I.

We have not yet seen this name for Boba Fett’s iconic starship debut anywhere else — the ship is still called Slave I on StarWars.com — but it is the first time we are seeing something new on official Star Wars products. The Marvel Comics series, of which there are quite a few, are canon stories situated along the Skywalker Saga timeline, with some set many years before, like Star Wars: The High Republic.

Darth Vader and Boba Fett
Credit: Lucasfilm

For an on-screen confirmation, fans will likely have to wait until The Book of Boba Fett debuts this December. The Book of Boba Fett, along with Ahsoka, will take place in the same timeline as Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian, with the new bounty hunter series teaming Morrison’s Boba Fett, up with his new partner-in-crime, Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen). The two returned to Tatooine to claim the throne at Jabba’s Palace in the Season 2 finale of The Mandalorian, ultimately setting up the next installment in this pre-sequel trilogy era of the Star Wars Universe.

Fennec Shand (left) and Boba Fett sat on Jabba's throne (right)
Credit: Lucasfilm

More on War of the Bounty Hunters

The official description of the Marvel Comics series is as follows:

Never betray a bounty hunter — especially if it’s Boba Fett! Years ago, Valance and Bossk joined Fett on a mission that went sideways in a bad way — thanks to a violent betrayal by Valance’s mentor, Nakano Lash! The trio barely escaped with their lives. Now Lash has finally resurfaced under mysterious circumstances, and every bounty hunter in the galaxy wants a piece. Valance is hell-bent on getting to the prize first — after all, he has a score to settle. But so does Boba Fett! What could have possibly made Lash break her word and betray her protégé? The truth could shake the foundations of the galaxy’s criminal underworld! The biggest, baddest bounty hunters of all clash in a rip-roaring tale of scum and villainy, Star Wars-style!

What do you think of this new name for Boba Fett’s Starship? Is it changing Star Wars history? Let us know in the comments!

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