Star Wars Needs John Boyega (But John Boyega Doesn't Need Star Wars)
The year 2015 was a time of great hope in the "Star Wars" fandom. The long-awaited sequel trilogy was upon us, with Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford reprising their beloved characters in a galaxy far, far away. Just as exciting (if not more so) were the young heroes slated to make their debut in the film, and in doing so, usher in a more inclusive age of "Star Wars" storytelling. As played by Daisy Ridley (Rey), John Boyega (Finn), and Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron), these new additions proved to be instantly lovable and buoyed by amazing screen chemistry — so much so it had us shipping them after but a handful of scenes together.
That was before the dark times. Before the divisive fan response to "The Last Jedi" and the subsequent box office failure of "Solo" left Lucasfilm scrambling, culminating in "The Rise of Skywalker," a film that was divisive for completely different reasons than "The Last Jedi." Through it all, the trilogy's young stars — along with Kelly Marie Tran, who made her debut as Rose in "The Last Jedi" — endured all manner of mistreatment online due to their race and gender, leading some of them to quit social media outright. The films only further did them dirty, resulting in Boyega being increasingly sidelined as the trilogy went on and Tran being criminally wasted in "The Rise of Skywalker."
With Ridley officially returning as Rey for a film set after "The Rise of Skywalker" (during what's been dubbed the "New Jedi Order" period of the "Star Wars" timeline), the franchise has a chance to redeem itself. However, it'll be hard-pressed to do that without bringing Boyega back as well — and let's be real, as much as "Star Wars" needs the actor, Boyega absolutely doesn't need "Star Wars."
Post-Star Wars slump? I don't know her
Like most of us, John Boyega spent 2020 re-examining his career goals and priorities during the COVID-19 lockdowns. He also deservedly made headlines by delivering a passionate speech at a Black Lives Matter protest and publicly holding Lucasfilm's feet to the fire for it way it did him, and by extension, the other actors of color in the sequel trilogy, wrong. In his own words from an interview he gave that year:
"What I would say to Disney is do not bring out a Black character, market them to be much more important in the franchise than they are, and then have them pushed to the side. It's not good. I'll say it straight up."
This sequence of events led to Boyega having a "very honest, a very transparent conversation" with a high-ranking executive at the House of Mouse, after which he made it clear he's content not coming back to "Star Wars" anytime soon, if ever.
And why should he? He's earned raves for his performances in Steven McQueen's "Small Axe" anthology film series and Gina Prince-Bythewood's historical epic "The Woman King," along with his work on Abi Damaris Corbin's dramatic thriller "Breaking" (formerly known as "892") Up next, Boyega can be seen starring in Juel Taylor's much-buzzed-about "They Cloned Tyrone," a sci-fi action-comedy slated to premiere at the American Black Film Festival prior to streaming on Netflix. As if that wasn't enough, it seems Boyega and director Joe Cornish are closer than ever to making "Attack the Block 2," the long-awaited follow-up to their acclaimed 2011 sci-fi action-comedy and Boyega's screen debut.
The short of it: Boyega has more than proven himself to be an incredible actor while amassing an impressive and versatile post-"Star Wars" filmography. He's doing perfectly fine, thanks for asking.
The Finn of it all
Meanwhile, Daisy Ridley has yet to hit her stride post-"The Rise of Skywalker," but's let make something clear: she doesn't need "Star Wars" any more than John Boyega does. Moreover, for as much as her recent comments about reprising Rey read as subterfuge in the wake of her announced return to the franchise, one can readily understand why she's coming back. For starters, this new "Star Wars" film is being directed by Oscar-winner Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy ("Ms. Marvel") and written by "Peaky Blinders" creator Steven Knight, which would be reason enough to join any project. That it's a chance to address the failures of the sequel trilogy only further justifies Ridley's decision.
The thing is, there's no way of fully reckoning with the mess "The Rise of Skywalker" made without picking up Finn's storyline. In the wake of that film's conclusion, the character represents a whole different set of experiences among those who were abused by the First Order and must carve out a new life for themselves than Rey does. Not only that, "The Rise of Skywalker" went out of its way to allude to Finn's burgeoning Force sensitivity. To ignore that thread in a movie centered on Rey instructing the next generation of Force users would only further insult Finn and fail to correct his treatment in the sequel trilogy.
Bear in mind, given the current lack of details about Chinoy's film, it's entirely plausible Boyega's already secretly being wooed (w$$ed?) back to the franchise. Certainly, he has every right to change his mind and return to "Star Wars"; if he does, I will happily support him, just as I would Oscar Isaac and Kelly Marie Tran if they, too, returned. But if they don't want to? Kudos to them, I say.