Firespray Gunship: Boba Fett’s New Ship Name & Why They Changed It

The events of episode 4 of The Book of Boba Fett allowed us to see some of the things that happened before Fett became the new Daimyo of Jabba’s former territory. He enlisted the help of Fennec Shand, who he rescued from certain death, to retrieve his ship from Jabba’s former palace. However, fans were quick to point out that he never mentioned the ship’s old name and simply referred to it as his Firespray gunship. So, why did they change the name of Boba Fett’s ship?

Boba Fett’s ship’s name wasn’t officially changed. The show just avoided using its old name of Slave I because it seemed too racist evil of a name. So, instead of using the old name that had attracted criticism in the past, they resorted to calling it out by its ship class, which is Firespray Gunship.

You have to understand that when Boba Fett’s character was created, he was supposed to be this evil bounty hunter. True enough, he used to be leaning towards evil, and that is why the old ship name fit his character. Of course, at the time when the ship was given its name, it was when society was still less racially sensitive compared to what it is today.

What Is Firespray Gunship In The Book Of Boba Fett?

There are a lot of things iconic about Boba Fett, who has become one of the fan-favorite characters ever since he first appeared during Empire Strikes back more than four decades ago. Of course, his armor is the most iconic part about him, as he was the first person we saw wearing a cool Mandalorian armor. Then there is also his ship, called Slave I, which has become a trademark for him because no other ship resembles it.

Now, throughout Boba Fett’s history, his ship was always there with him and is quite possibly older than he is. In Attack of the Clones, we already saw his father, Jango Fett, using Slave I. At that time, Boba was just ten years old, and that means that there is a good chance that Jango was already using it prior to Boba’s “birth.” 

Following Jango’s death, Boba has since inherited not only the armor but the ship as well. And he has been using this ship in all of the different versions of himself in all of the different canon Star Wars media.

However, The Book of Boba Fett allows us to see the bounty hunter living a life far away from his bounty hunting days when he was spending time with a tribe of Tusken Raiders. This was the time before he became the new Daimyo of Mos Espa and after he was nearly killed at the hands of the Sarlacc in Return of the Jedi. During the entire time he was with the Tuskens, we never saw him with his ship.

That said, in episode 4 of The Book of Boba Fett, the titular character was seen scouting Jabba’s former palace after his Tusken Raider tribe was killed by Nikto Riders. At first, it wasn’t revealed why he was scouting the palace, but what we were sure of was that Boba Fett knew that he didn’t stand a chance against the number of guards patrolling the area.

Shortly after that, Fett discovered Fennec Shand’s nearly-lifeless body left for dead in the sands. He saved her because he knew her identity as a master assassin. Saving Shand’s life meant that the assassin owed a debt of gratitude to the former bounty hunter.

When Shand asked what Fett needed from her, he said that he wanted to infiltrate Jabba’s former palace because he wanted to retrieve his Firespray gunship. This is an entirely new term for a lot of Star Wars fans out there. So, what is a Firespray gunship in The Book of Boba Fett?

The Firespray gunship is not something that is new to The Book of Boba Fett. That’s because this is just Slave I, which has always been Boba Fett’s one and only ship in the current Star Wars canon. As such, those who heard the name “Firespray” for the first time shouldn’t be too alarmed because this is just the same old ship that Boba Fett has been flying for as far as we can remember.

Why They Changed Slave I Name To The Firespray Gunship?

Now that you know that the Firespray gunship is just Slave I, you might be wondering why Boba Fett never referred to it as Slave I. So, why was the name of the ship changed from Slave I to Firespray gunship?

Technically speaking, the name was never changed. The Star Wars canon still refers to the ship as Slave I. However, in case you haven’t noticed, the people over at Lucasfilm just resorted to avoiding the name altogether instead of changing it.

You may have noticed this is in some of the previous Star Wars media, such as The Mandalorian. In that series, none of the characters ever referred to the name of the ship despite the fact that it is one of the most well-known ships among bounty hunters and the people in the underworld of the Star Wars universe.

In The Book of Boba Fett, they used the same tactics in The Mandalorian as the name of the ship was never mentioned as well. And instead of calling it by its name, Boba Fett just calls it by its ship class, which is Firespray.

So, in other words, Firespray gunship is not the ship’s new name because it is merely the ship’s class or type. As far as the canon is concerned, as of this writing, the ship is still named Slave I. It’s just that they avoided calling it by its name.

The reason why they avoid calling the ship by its name is that Slave I isn’t exactly a sensitive name. In the past, calling it Slave I was pretty fitting because Boba Fett was initially created to be an evil-leaning character that killed and trafficked people all over the galaxy for a living. Of course, at the time it was named Slave I, the world was not yet as racially and politically sensitive as it is today.

The Slave I name has always been controversial because of how racist it sounds. Today, the name no longer fits the more modern racially sensitive narrative in society. Of course, it also doesn’t fit Boba Fett’s renewed personality as a more neutral character.

Because of how the times have changed and how Boba Fett had undergone a character transformation in the decades the separated today and the time when it was first named Slave I, it was only right for Lucasfilm to avoid using its name entirely as continuing to call it by its given name would be very controversial and insensitive.

What Kind Of Ship Is It?

The Firespray-31-class ship is actually a patrol and attack ship used to guard and patrol the prison moon Oovo 4. Meanwhile, the one that Boba Fett flies was originally stolen by Jango Fett from Oovo 4. It was customized to fit the stealth and attack style that both Jango and Boba Fett prefer whenever he is flying the ship.