Star Wars actor John Boyega is done playing Finn in a galaxy far, far away.
When he was first cast in 2015’s “The Force Awakens,” it looks like he was getting equal billing with Daisy Ridley and her character of Rey. As the film continued on with 2017’s “The Last Jedi” and 2019’s “The Rise of Skywalker,” Finn’s journey took more and more of a backseat to Adam Driver and his character of Kylo Ren.
“The Woman King” actor has been openly critical of the way Disney treated his character, and it seems that Boyega is done with the franchise for good.
John Boyega Says He Will NOT Return To Play Finn In ‘Star Wars’
The 30-year-old British actor appeared on SiruisXM’s “Tell Me Everything With John Fuselsang” to talk about the possibility of him returning to the franchise.
“At this point I’m cool off it. I’m good off it,” Boyega said. “I think Finn is at a good confirmation point where you can just enjoy him in other things, the games, the animation. But I feel like ‘VII’ to ‘IX’ was good for me.”
Not only did the sequel trilogy end with Episode IX, but it also wrapped up the nine-episode Skywalker Saga itself, which started with 1977’s “A New Hope.” At this point in his career, Boyega says that he has new “allies” that he chooses to align himself with.
“To be fair, [with] the allies that I’ve found within Joel Taylor and Jamie Foxx, Teyonah Parris, Viola Davis, all these people I’ve been working with… versatility is my path,” he added.
John Boyega Discusses The Racist Moses Ingram Received For ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’
John Boyega was faced with racist criticism of his character as soon as the first trailer dropped for “The Force Awakens” before the movie even came out. Although he feels that Disney has never really addressed the racism he received, the Star Wars Twitter account and star Ewan McGregor did come out in defense of Moses Ingram, who starred in the Disney+ live-action series “Obi-Wan Kenobi” earlier this year.
“Moses Ingram being protected makes me feel protected. Do you understand what I’m saying?” Boyega asked on the podcast. “It makes me feel like, ‘Okay, cool. I am not the elephant in the room.’ Because when I started, it wasn’t really a conversation you could bring up.”
“You know how they went through it. It was kind of like, let’s just be silent. It wasn’t a conversation you could bring up,” he continued. “But now to see how blatant it is, to see Ewan McGregor come and support… for me, [it] fulfills my time where I didn’t get the support.”
John Boyega Doesn’t Feel ‘Bitter’ About The Support He Didn’t Receive While Filming
Although it would be understandable that the “Attack the Block” actor would feel “bitter” about the lack of support when he was in the spotlight, he is just glad to see that the Star Wars franchise is at least starting to step up and show their support.
“It doesn’t make me feel bitter at all. It makes me feel like sometimes you are that guy. And my dad taught me that,” Boyega said. “Sometimes you’re not the guy to get the blessing and sometimes you are Moses, you know, you lead the people to the mountain, but you see the destination. You don’t get to go in, you get others to go in.”
“And that’s where you get your happiness from,” he added. “And for me to see other people accepted, and then at the same time to see that the studios now are like, ‘Okay, cool. This is not an elephant in the room conversation. We need to support our Black client.’ It’s fantastic.”
John Boyega Isn’t About To Join The Marvel Cinematic Universe Either
Although plenty of fans would love to see him trade one franchise for another, it looks like the “Pacific Rim: Uprising” actor isn’t eager to trade one Disney franchise for another.
In a new interview with Men’s Health for their September 2022 issue, Boyega denied rumors that he had filmed a secret role for Marvel, just as he had for the first “Black Panther” movie.
“That’s not in the vision for me now,” Boyega said. “I want to do nuanced things. I want to donate my services to original indie films that come with new, fresh ideas because I know it’s real hard to top Iron Man in that universe.”
Those interested can read more about what he had to say in that interview by clicking here.