John Boyega's issues with the Star Wars franchise are well documented. The actor has previously voiced his frustration with Lucasfilm, at one point specifically noting how "they gave all the nuance to Adam Driver... [and] Daisy Ridley," but not his own character, Finn.
Of course, that's far from the only thing the actor has said on the record. In an Instagram post, the actor commented, "lol no thank you," in response to a commenter who suggested another appearance in Star Wars, even further declaring that "[he's] moved on."
All of his negative comments regarding his time in the franchise even drew the attention of Lucasfilm Kathleen Kennedy. According to Boyega, the two had a "really nice, transparent, honest conversation," where she "verbally showed support."
But as nice as that sounds, does it increase the chances the actor may return to his role of Finn at any point in the future?
John Boyega Probably Won't Return
During an appearance on SiriusXM's Tell Me Everything With John Fugelsang, John Boyega commented on the possibility that he'd return to the franchise in the future as his character Finn and his experience facing racism while working on the Sequel Trilogy.
Boyega commented that he "feel[s] like [Episode VII] to [Episode IX] was good for him:"
“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.”
When the topic of Moses Ingram came up and how Ewan McGregor came to her support, the actor noted how the incident "[made him] feel protected" and that when he started, "it wasn't really as a conversation you could bring up:"
“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.. 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.”
He continued, saying that "for [him] to see other people accepted" and seeing the studios realize how they "need to support [their] Black client" was fulfilling in its own right:
“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, ‘Okay, cool. This is not an elephant in the room conversation. We need to support our Black client.’ It’s fantastic."
When asked directly if he would play the character again, Boyega responded, "at this point, I'm cool off it. I'm Good off it."
In a separate interview with The Daily Beast, the actor addressed the fanbase's shipping of his Finn and Oscar Isaac's Poe Dameron. Boyega laugh, exclaiming how "that was hilarious" and that Isaac "was playing it up" consistently:
"That was hilarious. You know what was funny about that? Oscar was playing it up. We were onstage at I think it was Comic-Con or something, and he turns to me and says, “Bae, give me your hand”—he always calls me “bae”—and I give Oscar my hand and he puts it up in the air and the crowd just starts going off. He loved it. For him, he always wanted to see that kind of representation in Star Wars. I read with another guy for Poe Dameron who was really talented as well, but it came down to the chemistry. When Oscar got on set, I don’t know why, we got this bromance that was just dope, but as actors we could transcend that bromance."
Is John Boyega Truly Done?
It's hard to deny that the actor seems well and truly over the franchise. While a Finn spin-off project has been rumored in the past, given these vibrant and continued comments from the actor himself, the odds of John Boyega returning don't look great.
But, one thing to point out is how the actor seems to feel the character had a satisfying conclusion—or at least as satisfying as it could be given the various issues he's voiced. But, there's undoubtedly plenty more to explore with the character.
The Rise of Skywalker made it clear that Finn is almost certainly force sensitive, which feels like something that needs to be explored after the massive fakeout The Force Awakens pulled off. With recent Disney+ projects bringing back plenty of old faces and working on creating a more cohesive universe, it seems a given that the Sequel characters will be needed at some point. Lucasfilm will just need to have a convincing argument to get John Boyega back into the picture.
The next Star Wars project, Star Wars: Andor, is set to hit Disney+ on Wednesday, September 21.
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