Actor John Boyega is probably best known for playing Finn in the Star Wars sequel trilogy.
Although his role diminished with each passing movie, he has become a fan-favorite character and recently took center stage in the animated LEGO summer vacation special that was just released last week.
Although his time in a galaxy far far away has come to an end, there is one franchise that fans would love to see him in: the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Although he’s long been rumored to be appearing in the “Black Panther” sequel, it looks like Boyega is taking a hard pass on appearing in another Disney franchise, at least for now.
John Boyega Casts Doubt On The Possibility That He Will Ever Join The MCU
In a new interview with Men’s Health for their September 2022 issue, John Boyega denied rumors that he had filmed a secret role for Marvel. Instead, he told the publication that he is looking to take on smaller productions instead of major blockbusters like Star Wars at this point in his career.
“That’s not in the vision for me now,” Boyega told the magazine. “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.”
The “Pacific Rim: Uprising” actor has several projects in the works, including “The Woman King,” “Breaking,” and “The Test.” The 30-year-old says he has to be careful about which projects he takes on, describing the life of an actor as a “tiring” one.
“It’s tiring and it’s stress, and then dealing with the fact that you eventually have to perform,” he said. “There are many different ways careers can exhaust you, but the artistic way is unique.”
Boyega told the publication that, at one point, he had become “exhausted, frantic, and paranoid” due to his intense filming schedule.
John Boyega Was Rumored To Join The Cast Of ‘Black Panther’ In 2016
Fresh off the success of 2015’s “The Force Awakens,” the first film in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, John Boyega was rumored to have been tapped to star in the “Black Panther” film with the late Chadwick Boseman.
“You can’t have it all,” he told TheFIX in 2016. “Being a part of the audience for me right now and having the experiences of being a part of other franchises, it’s a good position to be in. Just to sit there and to experience this movie take over the world.”
Although Boyega’s commitment to the Star Wars sequel trilogy would have made it difficult to pursue a recurring role in the MCU, Boyega’s character of Finn played a smaller and smaller role as the sequel trilogy continued. Although director J.J. Abrams once called him the next star of Star Wars, Boyega has been critical that Disney gave all the nuance to Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley in an interview with GQ.
In the Men’s Health interview, Boyega also addressed his decision to speak out about the racist treatment that his character received online and Disney’s decision to seemingly focus on the white characters (played by Driver and Ridley) over the characters of color (played by Oscar Isaac and Kelly Marie Tran).
Boyega believes that speaking out against the racism he experienced after the nine-episode Skywalker Saga ended with “The Rise of Skywalker” in 2019 will help actors of color in the future.
“I’m the one that brought this to the freaking forefront,” Boyega told the magazine. “At least the people going into it now, after my time, [they’re] cool. [Lucasfilm is] going to make sure you’re well supported and at least you [now] go through this franchise knowing that everybody is going to have [your] back. I’m glad I talked out everything at that time.”
Boyega is seemingly referring to the breakout star of the Disney+ “Obi-Wan Kenobi” series, Moses Ingram, who posted racist messages that she received after her character of Reva/Third Sister made her debut.
After “The Queen’s Gambit” actress went public with the hate she received, the Star Wars Twitter account released a public statement to show their support. Star Ewan McGregor, who reprised his role as the titular Kenobi, also released a video statement to show his support, which can be seen here.