10 Photos Of Carrie Fisher Promoting “Return Of The Jedi” At A Rolling Stone Magazine Beach Shoot, 1983
Everyone over a certain age in 1983, and many millions born later, cannot help but remember that bikini — the metal one worn by Carrie Fisher as a captive of Jabba the Hutt in Return of the Jedi, the one unfortunately named the “Slave Leia” costume.
Now it looks like Disney and Lucasfilm may be doing their best to retire the skimpy outfit, if a report on the well-sourced rumor website Making Star Wars is to be believed.
“Slave Leia costume is being retired from the Star Wars IP for merchandise and marketing,” the site’s editor in chief Jason Ward says he has been told by several sources inside the Mouse House.
That doesn’t mean that the costume won’t continue to exist at Star Wars fan conventions, and other nerd gatherings such as Comic-Con, where it remains among the most reliably popular costumes (and is often seen worn by men as well as women).
Return of the Jedi costume designer Aggie Guerard Rodgers told me the bikini was a deliberate throwback to Dejah Thoris, the eponymous heroine of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Princess of Mars, as envisioned by artist Frank Frazetta in the 1960s; it has roots in science fiction history and Art Deco design.
But even in the world of fandom, there are changes afoot when it comes to the name of the outfit and the figurine. After all, the primary function of Fisher’s character in that part of the narrative is to kill Jabba the Hutt, so focusing on the captivity part gives short shrift to her achievements — as Fisher herself has pointed out.
That chain only"enslaved"me until I could use the frabjous thing to KILL THAT DROOLING SWOLLEN SUPERTONGUED SLUG&whirl him off into infinity
— Carrie Fisher (@carrieffisher) July 15, 2015
