Disney Might Remove Princess Leia Slave Costume from 'Star Wars' Merchandise

BY Josiah HughesPublished Nov 3, 2015

There's no escaping J.J. Abrams' forthcoming Star Wars film The Force Awakens. Without question, it's one of the most hyped movies in years — and it's managed to reignite the movie series' merchandising with billions of dollars in sales. One bit of Star Wars lore that might disappear, however, is Carrie Fisher's bikini-clad Princess Leia slave uniform.

Last week, Fisher told new Star Wars star Daisy Ridley to avoid wearing a slave outfit at all costs. 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. In Interview, Fisher told Ridley that it's uncomfortable to be viewed as a sex object in other people's fantasies.

Whether related to this quote or not, there's now a rumour stirring that Disney may remove all traces of the gold slave outfit from any and all Star Wars merchandising.

As Vulture reports, comic book artist J. Scott Campbell opened up about the potential change in a Facebook conversation with Blake Northcott. "Disney is already well on it's way to wiping out the 'slave' outfit from any future products period," Campbell said. "You will NOT see and future merchandising featuring the slave outfit ever again. Trust me."

Campbell works for Marvel, which like LucasFilm is owned by Disney. He added that he's already pulled the plug on a Slave Leia statue, and he's been asked to tone down her sexuality in his artwork. "We can't even draw Leia in a sexy pose at Marvel, let alone in that outfit!" he said. "We also had a 3-D SL statue killed at a major manufacturer because there will no longer be any SL merchandise."

At this point, the news should obviously be taken with a grain of salt, though we won't be surprised if Disney does quietly follow through with it.

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