John Boyega Says He Wont Return to Star Wars: Im Cool Off It, Im Good Off It
John Boyega is shutting the door on his “Star Wars” legacy.
The “Force Awakens” actor portrayed Finn in the sequel trilogy but is planning on staying far, far away from the franchise.
“At this point I’m cool off it. I’m good off it,” Boyega said during SiriusXM’s “Tell Me Everything With John Fugelsang.”
The “Breaking” actor continued, “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 ‘[Episode] VII’ to ‘[Episode] IX’ was good for me.”
Boyega’s latest appearance was in “The Rise of Skywalker” in 2019, completing the Skywalker trilogy. The actor previously received racist fan harassment, leading to Boyega having a “very honest, a very transparent conversation” with Disney executives to not sideline Black and POC characters in the franchise.
However, “Obi-Wan Kenobi” actress Moses Ingram was still targeted with hate-filled social media messages from so-called fans. Lucasfilm had warned Ingram about anticipated racist backlash and issued a statement of solidarity with the actress.
“Moses Ingram being protected makes me feel protected. Do you understand what I’m saying? It makes me feel like, ‘OK, cool. I am not the elephant in the room,’” Boyega now reflected. “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. 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.”
Boyega clarified, “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. 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. And for me to see other people accepted, and then at the same time to see that the studios now are like, ‘OK, cool. This is not an elephant in the room conversation. We need to support our Black client.’ It’s fantastic.”
The “Woman King” actor shared that he has been relying on “allies” like Joel Taylor and Jamie Foxx, Teyonah Parris, Viola Davis, and Daniel Kaluuya for career guidance.
“Versatility is my path,” Boyega summed up.
Boyega previously shut down Marvel rumors and voiced his support for independent films. Recently, Boyega called out the “differences” of being part of a massive franchise like “Star Wars.”
“I always try to take away the lesson of, ‘That was different,’” Boyega told The Daily Beast. “But never again.”
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