ARTICLE
John Boyega vs the Star Wars franchise: A Saga
By Rachelle / 15 Sep 2020 (Tuesday)
The conclusion of the Star Wars sequel trilogy meant the departure of its stars from the franchise and one star in particular has been most vocal about his leaving.
John Boyega revealed he has moved on from his character Finn in the Star Wars franchise in response to a user comment hoping for him to appear in future films. He has stated that he's "not into playing one role for too long as he's got more to offer than that."
"lol no thank you. I’ve moved on."
If that comment isn't enough, Boyega has continued to be vocal through his social media platforms, reminding fans that he is indeed done with the franchise. But what is unfortunate is that the star is still on the receiving end of hate and backlash for the standards of which the franchise has dropped to. Nevertheless, Boyega addressed them in a tweet:
Fortunately or unfortunately, that was not the last time Boyega had to speak up about his time in the franchise. The actor expressed bitterness over how his role as stormtrooper Finn faded in the latter episodes of the trilogy which concluded with The Rise of Skywalker in 2019. Boyega played the runaway Stormtrooper in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Despite being at Rey's side as a member of the resistance for most of the trilogy, the actor felt that the filmmakers did not know what to do with his character.
In an interview with GQ earlier this month, Boyega made a bold statement that suggested Disney and Lucasfilm's mistreatment of characters of colour in the latest Star Wars films. Stating that they were marketed as important elements in the franchise but were ultimately “pushed to the side”. He said:
What I would say to Disney is do not bring out a black character, market them to be much more important in the franchise than they are, and then have them pushed to the side. It’s not good. I’ll say it straight up.
He also suggested Kelly Marie Tran's who played Rose, Naomi Ackie the black British actress who played Jannah, and Guatemalan-born Oscar Isaac who played Poe, were similarly marginalised, while Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley had taken prominence in the lead roles as Kylo Ren and Rey.
“They gave all the nuance to Adam Driver, all the nuance to Daisy Ridley. Let’s be honest. Daisy knows this. Adam knows this. Everybody knows. I’m not exposing anything.”
Boyega acknowledged an actor is "not necessarily going to like everything" in a film. He said Star Wars was an "amazing opportunity" and a "stepping stone" but he wouldn't call his time there a "great experience."
There's been no response on this matter from any of the main figures in the Star Wars universe but he does have support from some in the showbiz.
Matthew Cherry, Academy Award-winning director for his short-film Hair Love:
Jameela Jamil, a vocal activist and actress from NBC's hit series The Good Place:
Rachel Zegler, who will play Maria in Steven Spielberg's new West Side Story: