Warning: Contains SPOILERS for The Book of Boba Fett.
Boba Fett no longer refers to his starship as the Slave 1 in The Book of Boba Fett, but the series missed an opportunity to meaningfully rename Fett’s famous vessel. The Slave 1 is almost as famous as Jango Fett and Boba Fett themselves, making its cinematic debut with the latter in The Empire Strikes Back and returning to the delight of viewers in 2002 with Star Wars: Episode II -Attack of the Clones. While the Slave 1 hasn’t been properly renamed in the canon Star Wars continuity, it’s no longer being referred to by its designation.
While the origin of the Slave 1’s name hasn’t been explained in canon, the Legends timeline provides one in the 2002 video game, Star Wars: Bounty Hunter. Following the destruction of his original ship, the Jaster’s Legacy, Jango Fett steals one of six prototype vessels from the Oovo IV prison guards and destroys the rest. While Fett simply refers to it as a Firespray Pursuit Special, he eventually comes across a slave ship on Malastare, reminding him of his brief time as a slave following the Battle of Galidraan. On a voyage to Tatooine, Fett names his ship the Slave 1, referencing his painful past.
Boba Fett retrieves his ship in The Book of Boba Fett “Chapter 4: The Gathering Storm,” though he only calls it his Firespray Gunship. This, along with merchandise and comic books, confirms that Boba Fett’s ship will no longer be referred to as the Slave 1 in canon material, likely due to worries about understandable controversy over the name’s connotations. Boba Fett’s character growth after his near-death experience in the sarlacc pit led him to leave being a bounty hunter behind and seek a better life as a crime lord, albeit one who rules his territories with honor and respect rather than brutality and fear thanks to the Tuskens. In the five years after Return of the Jedi, Fett joined a Tusken Raider tribe and learned the importance of having loyalty reciprocated. This, combined with the brutal nature of slavery, which still exists on Tatooine, might make the Slave 1 designation a subject of controversy in-universe. While this is a safe option, it passes up on an opportunity for Boba Fett to rename the ship meaningfully, since Fett himself has undergone such drastic changes following his escape from the sarlacc.
While the Galactic Republic and, presumably, the New Republic outlaw slavery, Tatooine is far outside of their influence, making it commonplace on the criminal-controlled Outer Rim world. The Mandalorian season 2 shows that the Mining Collective brutalized and enslaved the population of Mos Pelgo until Cobb Vanth repelled them. If Fett wishes to be a benevolent crime lord, he could have renamed his ship to something that better represents who he is and where he's at in life now instead of simply not saying its designation out loud.
While the Legends version of Jango Fett couldn’t let go of his traumatic past, the canon timeline’s Boba Fett is more concerned with his future. Fett retains his father’s armor and ship, but he is not a Mandalorian like Jango Fett was and he’s growing past his bounty hunter career. Boba Fett not renaming his ship with something meaningful to his new lifestyle and his brief time in the Tusken Raider tribe feels like a missed opportunity. It could go a long way toward supplementing his characterization in The Book of Boba Fett. Still, it's entirely possible that him giving his ship a new official moniker might come toward the end of the season, when Boba Fett fully comes into his own.
The Book of Boba Fett streams episodes Wednesdays on Disney+.
