Just over three years after he last played the role of Finn in “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” British actor John Boyega has made peace with the role – a part that brought him immediate fame but also grief.
Back in 2020, after the “Star Wars” sequel trilogy was complete, Boyega called out Disney for its treatment of his stormtrooper turned resistance fighter character.
Finn was a major focus of ‘The Force Awakens’, comparable to Daisy Ridley’s Rey, but was subsequently sidelined in the two sequels – often doing side missions that felt ancillary to the main action.
In 2020 he told GQ: “What I would say to Disney is, ‘Do not bring out a black character, market them to be much more important to the franchise than they are and then have them pushed to the side. It’s not good.'”
Cut to today and he’s more comfortable with his role and where the studio is headed, especially seeing the way the studio handled similar fan criticism of Moses Ingram in “Obi-Wan Kenobi” last year. He tells The Times of London:
“For me Star Wars has made the man, in a sense… The experiences, the fun times, good times, ugly times, bad times, it makes you who you are as you navigate through the industry, and that has definitely been interesting.
I feel like the arc that JJ tried to tie up, that’s where I feel comfortable with the release of him. And since then I’ve been able to enjoy, as a fan, The Mandalorian and Obi-Wan Kenobi. I’m enjoying the balance of all things.”
Boyega most recently starred in “The Woman King” and “Breaking” and will be seen this coming July in the Jamie Foxx-led “They Cloned Tyrone” on Netflix.
