The Book of Boba Fett has given Fett's iconic Slave 1 ship a new canon name. Here's the meaning behind the name and why it was likely changed.
Warning: Contains spoilers for The Book of Boba Fett episode 4.
The Book of Boba Fett episode 4 reintroduces Boba Fett’s iconic Slave 1 ship, but it appears to be going under a new name now. While Fett’s ship has been known as the Slave 1 for years, the name was only ever used in a Star Wars movie or TV show on two occasions in The Clone Wars TV show and originated in supplementary material such as comics and guidebooks. The first live-action mention of the ship’s name is a clear change from what fans have known it as, and there’s a good explanation for it.
The Book of Boba Fett episode 4, “The Gathering Storm," has another extended flashback to Fett’s past, this time showing how he recovered his ship. After saving Fennec Shand by having cybernetic parts implanted in her, which was previously referenced in The Mandalorian season 2, episode 6, Fett recruited her to help him break into Bib Fortuna’s palace and recover his stolen ship. The two manage to fight off Fortuna’s guards and escape with the ship, and the flashback continues until Fett’s last appearance in The Mandalorian, indicating that the flashbacks have now caught up to the present day.
The flashback sequence also reveals that the name of Fett’s ship has been changed from its original name of Slave 1 to a new name of “Firespray." Firespray was originally just the type of ship Slave 1, specifically a Firespray-31-class patrol and attack craft, but it appears that the show has decided to work the ship's model into its name. While it’s possible that Fett was simply referring to the model of the ship that the Slave 1 is when he was talking to Shand, the captions for the episode also refer to it as Firespray, so this is likely meant to be the official name. As for why the ship is no longer called Slave 1, the answer is likely in the name itself, with it being a ship with the word “slave” in it.
While slavery has been a part of the Star Wars franchise since its early years, the objectively negative connotations of it are probably things Disney didn’t want directly associated with the principal characters of the series anymore, so it would make sense for them to do what they can to try and disassociate slavery from the characters as much as possible. Something similar happened with Princess Leia’s iconic metal bikini from Return of the Jedi; the outfit had been referred to as “Slave Leia” for years, but in 2016, it was officially changed to “Huttslayer,” which takes the focus away from Leia being a slave and puts it all on her killing Jabba the Hutt. The Book of Boba Fett even does this beyond Slave 1, as Fett’s time with the Tusken Raiders is often referred to as them taking him in, which, while true, doesn’t change that he was originally made their slave.
Fett’s ship having its name changed was first hinted at in June 2021 when a new Lego set referred to his ship as “Boba Fett’s Starship” instead of Slave 1. Not everyone was receptive to that, however, as many fans didn’t like what they perceived as Disney's Star Wars trying to whitewash a character known for being a vicious bounty hunter, even calling it hypocritical to change the name for having “slave” in it in a franchise that constantly uses slavery as a plot point, and overall, they just didn’t like seeing what was perceived as a pointless retcon. Nevertheless, The Book of Boba Fett establishes Firespray as the new name of Slave 1, and that’s likely to stick for the foreseeable future.
More: The Book Of Boba Fett Achieves What The Rise Of Skywalker Never Could
The Book of Boba Fett releases new episodes Wednesdays on Disney+.
