John Boyega has already spoken out harshly about how Lucasfilm treated his character Finn in the new Star Wars trilogy. The actor was upset about how his hero was eventually pushed into the background.
Now, Boyega has said he has decided not to return to Star Wars even if Disney calls him for a movie or series.
I’m happy that I’m no longer part of this franchise. I think Finn is in a good position to bring him into other formats like games or animation. For me, the most recent films were enough.
John Boyega , actor
Boyega recalled his conflict with the management of Disney, when he explicitly asked not to push the characters of black actors and Asians into the background. Boyega then failed to reach the heads of the company, but he was pleased with how she reacted to criticism of actress Moses Ingram from the Obi-Wan Kenobi series.
“Moses Ingram being protected makes me feel protected. Do you understand what I’m saying? 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,” Boyega said. “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.”
John Boyega , actor
Boyega doesn’t mind that Disney stood up for Ingram but didn’t do the same for him. He credits his efforts with helping bring the franchise to where it is today.
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, ‘Okay, cool. This is not an elephant in the room conversation. We need to support our Black client.’ It’s fantastic.
John Boyega , actor
The next Star Wars movies will be set in the sequel era, but Finn will definitely not be part of that story. Whether this applies to the rest of the actors in the latest trilogy is still unclear.
