John Boyega Says He’s Not Rushing Back To Reprise His ‘Star Wars’ Role Following His Talk W/ Disney
John Boyega Says He’s Not Rushing Back To Reprise His ‘Star Wars’ Role Following His Talk W/ Disney
British actor John Boyega has remained vocal regarding his experience as a key character in Disney’s “Star Wars” franchise.
The actor was first tapped by Disney to join the cast of “Star Wars” as Finn back in 2015 and appeared in a total of three films in the franchise: “The Force Awakens,” 2017’s “The Last Jedi,” and 2019’s “The Rise of Skywalker.”
He previously said he left the franchise and called out Disney, saying the company was unsure of what to do when it came to marketing his and other minority performers’ characters. He said earlier this week that he had a conversation with Disney about his remarks.
“It was a very honest, a very transparent conversation. There was a lot of explaining on their end in terms of the way they saw things. They gave me a chance also to explain what my experience was like. I’d hope that me being so open with my career, at this stage, would help the next man, the guy that wants to be the assistant DOP, the guy that wants to be a producer. I hope that the conversation is not such a taboo or elephant in the room now, because someone just came and said it.”
Now, John Boyega is back in the headlines as he responds to reports that he was eager to reprise his character.
In a recent interview with Variety, John Boyega addressed the claim and said he’s in no rush to get back. He explained:
“At this moment, versatility is like the biggest thing for me right now. There are so many people I would really like to explore versatility [with], different roles and different characters. This is what I do. I enjoy what I do so to stay in one place could be sometimes hard.”
He also said in the interview that when it comes to race and casting backlash, he believes film studios should make their voices heard in support of actors and actresses.
“When one of your actors, especially an actor that’s so prominent in the story, is announced as part of your franchise and then it has a big racial backlash and receives abuse online and that starts to form a shadow on what is supposed to be an amazing gift, it is important for the studios to definitely lend their voice, lend their support to that and to have a sense of solidarity not just in the public eye, but on the ground on set.”
What are your thoughts on John Boyega’s most recent comments about not rushing back to his role? Let us know in the comments!