John Boyega Called Out His Star Wars Sequels Over Their Biggest Mistakes

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John Boyega has revealed what he would have done had he been in control of the "Star Wars" sequel trilogy.

 Boyega, who played Stormtrooper-turned-Resistance-hero Finn in "The Force Awakens," "The Last Jedi," and "The Rise of Skywalker," has voiced his misgivings with Disney's handling of the trilogy in the past. Now, he's revealed how he would have altered the story in a galaxy, far, far away.

"If I was a producer on Star Wars from the beginning, you would have had a whole completely different thing," Boyega said in response to a fan question at Florida Supercon (via Popverse). First and foremost, he wouldn't have killed off Han Solo and Luke Skywalker. Here's what he had to say about it:

"It would be mad. First of all, we're not getting rid of Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, all these people. We're not doing that. The first thing we're going to do is fulfill their story, fulfill their legacy. We're going to make a good moment of handing on the baton."

"The Last Jedi" sparked fierce debate and controversy amongst the fandom when it hit theaters in 2017. Much of that had to do with the characterization of Mark Hamill's Luke, who was largely isolated on Ahch-To. Harrison Ford's Han Solo died in the third act of "Force Awakens," meaning he never got to reunite on screen with Luke. Boyega would have approached the legacy characters differently, it seems.

Speaking further, Boyega seemed to address the "Mary Sue" accusations against Daisy Ridley's Rey. Certain fans believed she was overpowered and picked up her Jedi powers too quickly. While Boyega didn't name her directly, he suggested that newer characters shouldn't be so powerful from the jump.

"Our new characters will not be OP'd [overpowered] in these movies. They won't just grab stuff and know what to do with it. No. You've got to struggle like every other character in this franchise. I'd do that."

John Boyega's Star Wars sequel trilogy would be radically different

Whether or not the specific things Boyega is trying to address are issues in each viewer's mind, it's hard to argue that the sequel trilogy faced serious criticism. Even Hamill took issue with Luke's story in "Last Jedi" before eventually taking those comments back. The bigger issue is that a very vocal, toxic minority of "Star Wars" fans began dominating the conversation online. It all got very ugly at points.

In any case, there are surely plenty of fans who would buy what Boyega is selling — which doesn't stop there. The actor continued with his pitch, saying that he would pull from other material, including "The Old Republic" era and even "The Force Unleashed" video games:

"I'd look to the Old Republic stories and see what we can add to the continuation of that. I would definitely want to see Force Unleashed stories in there. I would try to expand the Star Wars universe as much as possible while respecting the lore. If we're expanding the lore, we have to do it in within the respective boundaries that stay true."

"But Luke Skywalker wouldn't be disappearing on a rock," Boyega added. "Hell no. Standing there and he's, like, a projector? I would want to give those characters way more."

I'm certainly not here to open up a debate as to whether these ideas are good or bad. It's just interesting that someone so close to the movies is now being so vocal about how much, in his view, Disney and Lucasfilm dropped the ball. It's a rich avenue for discussion as the next era of "Star Wars" is nearly upon us.

Next year will see the release of "The Mandalorian & Grogu," which adapts the Disney+ TV show for the big screen. Then we've got "Star Wars: Starfighter" starring Ryan Gosling, which is currently in production for a 2027 release. That movie will take place in a new era, roughly five years after "The Rise of Skywalker."

You can grab "Star Wars: The Complete Saga" on Blu-ray from Amazon.

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