Like an Instagram teen, Carrie Fisher has been trying to take back her days as Slave Leia. The “slave girl” outfit feels like a somewhat out-of-place bit of pandering in a series that’s largely free of such things and has, unfortunately, become Leia’s most iconic look despite the fact that it isn’t a particularly accurate representation of her character.
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Leia has been a fixture of Marvel’s line of “Star Wars” comics since their launch in 2015.
However, this is somewhat important in regards to Star Wars’ representation of female characters, with Daisy Ridley’s character set to be The Force Awakens’ protagonist, Leia having a pivotal role in its story and now Disney reportedly looking to rid its merchandise of Slave Leia. In two comments, Campbell lays out what he’s heard regarding the “slave outfit” and Marvel’s stance on depicting Leia in it. We also had a 3-D [Slave Leia] statue killed at a major manufacturer because there will no longer be any [Slave Leia] merchandise.
Campbell’s comments were made in response to Interview magazine’s feature on Daisy Ridley, in which the publication held a discussion between Princess Leia actress Carrie Fisher and The Force Awakens’ new protagonist. “Don’t be a slave like I was”.
Ridley agreed to fight for her portrayal, but Fisher repeated that Ridley should, “keep fighting against that slave outfit”. She’s referring, of course, to the gold bikini she was forced to wear when captured by Jabba the Hutt in Return of the Jedi. But for fans who love her, Slave Leia doesn’t have to go anywhere. And that’s why Disney and Lucasfilm are said to be taking steps to phase her out of any and all merchandise including toys, clothing and wall decorations. Disney is known to produce family-friendly projects after all, and the image of Slave Leia won’t stop angry parents from sending complaints about the merchandise. In addition to treating its future characters with a little more respect, you can expect to see future iterations of Leia in the marketing focus more on a few of her more heroic actions.
As Vulture reports, comic book artist J. Scott Campbell opened up about the potential change in a Facebook conversation with Blake Northcott. I personally think that’s a pretty male-gazey way to try and demonstrate a female character’s strength, but even if Disney does take the bikini out of commission, that doesn’t mean fans who are passionate about the costume can’t continue to celebrate it in cosplay or fan-art.
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The latest rumor from MakingStarWars circling Star Wars has nothing to do with the upcoming films. They were. Except for the “Slave Leia” toys.
