Last week, Lego officially unveiled the $500 Jabba Barge, its next big massive Star Wars UCS set geared toward collectors and adults. The new set, which is set to arrive next month, contains a series of small Lego minifig characters, including R2-2D, Jabba the Hutt, and Bib Fortuna. But it’s the new “Slave Leia” minifig in the set that has sparked some odd discussion online.
Over the years we’ve received a few Lego versions of the Leia seen in 1983’s Star Wars: Return of The Jedi. You know, the Leia that is wearing a small, revealing metal bikini and loincloth/skirt. This Leia is often referred to by fans as “Slave Leia” and has become popular in the fan community. But it’s also an outfit that has led to a lot of debate among fans and critics. And when Disney bought Star Wars in 2012, we indeed saw a decrease in how often “Slave Leia” appeared in merchandise and media. Since Disney bought Star Wars, only one new Lego set has been released that includes a version of the metal bikini. And now a new version is finally here, but she’s showing less plastic skin.
On September 21, the Lego news and fansite Brickset tweeted out two images comparing the 2013 Leia to the new 2024 Leia that will be included in the Barge set. The images showed that the new Leia is mostly the same, but now has a larger skirt that covers her entire upper legs. No more side thighs or oddly nude behind.
The reaction has been strange and hard to parse. There are people mocking or parodying folks being upset that they can’t “jerk it” to a plastic toy figure. There are also people jokingly blaming the nebulous concept of “woke” for the figure’s covered thighs. However, mixed in with these jokes and confused posts are folks who do seem actually upset about this new minifig. Some seem to suggest this is Disney trying to erase history. Others are shouting about censorship. At least one Lego outlet described the new Legie figure as “one step forward, two steps back.”
How many of these are real and how many are people just “joking around” is hard to tell. In 2024, I can easily see some people being mad about a less sexy Lego minifig. People got angry about the green M&M not being sexy. Every week it seems a group of online personalities yell about “DEI Chins” on fictional women. We have long crossed the Rubicon when it comes to what certain weirdos online will scream about that I genuinely can’t tell if a joke is a joke or a desperate soul angrily sharing his real, honest thoughts on Leia’s unexposed plastic ass.
Anyway, I think the new Leia looks fine. It was always weird that her skirt didn’t cover her rear, as it does in the film, and while the new skirt might not be accurate, it looks better than the old figure which also didn’t have a perfectly accurate loin cloth design either. I’m now going to stop writing about this and try to enjoy my life. Try to feel something again.
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