One of the most iconic costumes of the Star Wars franchise and film for that matter, is rumored to be going bye-bye. Disney may be close to retiring the metal slave costume worn by Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia from any future merchandising and media. Cue the collective gasps of millions of fans around the world, soon enough “Slave Leia” could forever be reserved for history.
The rumor stems from Facebook comments made by J. Scott Campbell, a comic book artist who worked on numerous Star Wars covers for Marvel Entertainment. Campbell commented on a post saying Disney was “already well on its way to wiping out the ‘slave’ outfit from any future products period,” and that “you will NOT see [any] future merchandising featuring the slave outfit ever again.”
When asked about his statements, Campbell replied, “I’ve heard it from two sources. We can’t even draw Leia in a sexy pose at Marvel, let alone in that outfit! We also had a 3-D SL statue killed at a major manufacturer because there will no longer be any SL merchandise.”
Well it didn’t take long for all of that to spread like wildfire. The fan site Making Star Wars was the first to pick his comments up and shortly after, the net was ablaze. Esquire, Maxim, and Gizmodo even ran them, so it was no surprise when Campbell played a little dumb and reeled in his statements via a series of tweets:
For the record, I didn't say this with any authority, I simply mentioned it seemed to be the case: http://makingstarwars.net/2015/11/there-are-rumors-princess-leias-return-of-the-jedi-bikini-costume-is-being-retired/ … #ComicGate
@50ShadesofPaolo @arcticninja Ha! No, I'm not! I agree with you. No idea why my casual comments pass for a "legitimate story". Silly
@50ShadesofPaolo @arcticninja Honestly, I had no idea I was "breaking news", I figured it was casual knowledge quite frankly
He thinks it was casual knowledge… or he’s not a very good liar. While this still may just be a rumor, Campbell’s comments are very matter of fact and if Disney’s plan is true, this is the first it’s being so widely revealed.
Disney and LucasFilm have yet to comment but it all starts to appear a helluva lot more believable when you look back at the October 30th interview between Fisher and Daisy Ridley in Interview Magazine. After some breezy chit-chat between the two actresses, Fisher pointedly tells Ridley not to wear the slave costume, likely referring to any sort of costume that’d be considered sexploitive.
FISHER: Word for it? Well, you should fight for your outfit. Don’t be a slave like I was.
RIDLEY: All right, I’ll fight.
FISHER: You keep fighting against that slave outfit.
RIDLEY: I will.
The infamous outfit, worn in 1983’s Return of the Jedi when Leia was being held captive by Jabba the Hutt, may not have caused a stink at the time but the costume today may invoke some not-so-’Disney’ themes; the metal bikini leaving little to the imagination and the part-time chain around her neck suggesting women as docile and unequal. Disney isn’t in the business of misrepresenting and objectifying. rather than empowering an entire gender, if that’s what they fear the costume does.
Cheer up fanboys (and fangirls)… if true, this is not only a win for gender equality but the value of your Slave Leia memorabilia probably just skyrocketed, too.
Related Topics: Star Wars
