Slave I Returns: A Closer Look At Boba Fett’s Ship In The Mandalorian
Slave I is one of the very few ships to appear both in the original trilogy and in the prequel films. And now it's back in Chapter 14 of The Mandalorian, in an episode titled "The Tragedy".
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Slave I is one of the very few ships to appear both in the original Star Wars trilogy and in the prequel films. And now it’s back in Chapter 14 of The Mandalorian, in an episode titled “The Tragedy”.
In Star Wars lore Slave I is a modified Firespray-31 class patrol craft, built in the Kuat drive yards on Kuat. It was stolen by the Mandalorian warrior Jango Fett. Jango then modified the stock ship to make it far more dangerous than the usual Firespray class.
Slave I made its first appearance in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. There it is piloted by Boba Fett, a bounty hunter hired by Darth Vader to pursue Han Solo. The first time we see it, Slave I lurks behind when a Star Destroyer takes off, waiting for Han Solo to reveal the Millennium Falcon’s hiding place. Slave I eventually follows the Falcon to Cloud City, where we see Solo loaded aboard encased in Carbonite.
When in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi Boba Fett ends up fed to the Sarlacc, the fate of his ship is totally unknown. Until now, when it returned on The Mandalorian, piloted by Boba Fett himself.
The ship was last seen on screen, however, in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. Back then it was still owned by Jango Fett. Fett made a clone of himself, raised it as his son, and named that son Boba. Boba inherited his father’s armor and his ship when Jedi Master Mace Windu took Jango Fett’s head.
Slave I hasn’t been seen in the live-action Star Wars universe since then (it did make an appearance in animated form for Star Wars: The Clone Wars). That means it’s been 18-years since the ship has been on screen. Now it’s back and better than ever.
We even got some pretty awesome shots inside Slave I’s cockpit. Here’s the ship’s control panel display…
And here’s Boba Fett at the controls…
And here’s Slave I landing in that awesome sequence at the end of The Mandalorian Chapter 14…
Slave I is not a big ship. It’s bigger than an X-Wing but a little smaller than the Millennium Falcon. It’s really about the size of Mando’s Razorcrest. Here’s how it stacks up, size-wise, against a legit Imperial Light Attack Cruiser…
It’s not clear yet where Slave I was while Boba Fett spent time trapped in the Sarlacc. Somehow, he got it back. Now with Mando’s Razorcrest destroyed, it looks like a lot of The Mandlorian’s future action will take place aboard Boba Fett’s iconic ship.
Here’s another look at it Slave I in flight during The Mandalorian Chapter 14…
It’s a dream come true for fans of Boba Fett. Slave I is back in action.
