The actor who played Boba Fett in Star Wars has slammed Disney for changing the name of his character's spaceship, Slave 1, in its Lego merchandise.
Mark Anthony Austin has criticized the company for renaming the ship for new Lego toys.
"My ship will forever be Slave1. Nothing. Not even #disney can or will change that. This is the way," tweeted Austin on June 28.
My ship will forever be Slave1.
— Mark Anthony Austin (@BobaFettANHSE) June 28, 2021
Nothing. Not even #disney can or will change that.
This is the way. pic.twitter.com/Qt99Yo8dEz
Screen Rant reports that Star Wars affiliated Lego merchandise was renamed for an upcoming Boba Fett playset. Instead of its original name, the toy is reportedly going to be renamed "Boba's Fett's Starship."
Star Wars fan website, Jedi News, spoke to members of the Lego Star Wars design team at the Lego Fan Media Day recently where the name change was confirmed.
"We're not calling it Slave I anymore. This is Boba Fett's Starship," Michael Lee Stockwell Lego Star Wars lead designer told the publication.
His colleague, Jens Kronvold Frederiksen Lego Star Wars design director added: "It's probably not something which has been announced publicly but it is just something that Disney doesn't want to use anymore."
Newsweek has reached out to Disney for comment.
Austin played Fett in the special edition of Star Wars: A New Hope and is quite unhappy with Star Wars' new parent company, Disney, messing with canonical elements of the beloved franchise.
He blasted the name change in a number of tweets on Monday, with another one reading: "WARS. Sounds harsh says #disney. Let's change the franchise name to: STAR DISPUTES."
"I'm coming for you Disney execs!!!" he says in another tweet.
I’m coming for you Disney execs!!!
— Mark Anthony Austin (@BobaFettANHSE) June 28, 2021
Disney has been striving to acknowledge insensitive cultural depictions in its works for some time now.
Streaming platform Disney+ now has restrictions on classic films such as Dumbo, Peter Pan, and The Aristocats because they contain racist and culturally insensitive depictions.
Other titles with the content warning include Swiss Family Robinson, Fantasia, The Jungle Book and Lady and the Tramp.
Disney explains this move on its Stories Matter website, where it says that the restrictions are part of efforts to review its library and add advisories to content that includes "negative depictions or mistreatment of people or cultures."
However, instead of just removing titles with offensive material, Disney says it sees an "opportunity to spark conversation and open dialogue on history that affects us all. We also want to acknowledge that some communities have been erased or forgotten altogether, and we're committed to giving voice to their stories as well."
