John Boyega’s Star Wars Outburst: Is Disney Dodging the Real Issue?

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John Boyega, who gained fame for portraying Finn in Disney’s Star Wars sequel trilogy, has been generating buzz again due to his remarks on racial representation within the franchise. In a recent conversation as part of Apple TV+’s original documentary “Number One on the Call Sheet: Black Leading Men in Hollywood,” Boyega expressed that Star Wars seems “overwhelmingly white” and noted that it’s significant for a black character to even exist in the series. He also asserted that certain fans were content with him playing a supporting role but resistant to him leading the narrative.

John Boyega, in a documentary, pointed out that “Star Wars” has often felt exclusive and high-class, with a predominantly white cast. He noted that it’s significant when some fans argue about characters like Lando Calrissian and Samuel L. Jackson, comparing it to claiming there are numerous chocolate chips in a dough mix – they were just sprinkled in there, he said.

Previously, Boyega has expressed dissatisfaction about his Star Wars journey on several occasions. In 2020, he publicly criticized Disney during an interview with GQ, stating that they had initially marketed Finn as a key character but later sidelined him in favor of characters played by Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver. He also pointed out that his role was minimized compared to theirs and expressed disappointment over the reduction of his presence in promotional materials, particularly for China.

Instead of placing the blame for the backlash squarely on the fanbase, it’s essential to recognize that Disney has consistently been the target, and this recent discourse merely redirects the criticism. While it’s undeniable that prejudiced fans can be found in any significant community, the intense reaction to Finn’s character was predominantly sparked by Disney’s handling of the Star Wars trilogy. Initially thrilled about a Black stormtrooper evolving into a hero, fans grew disillusioned when Finn’s role diminished significantly in Rian Johnson’s sequel The Last Jedi, with minimal character growth beyond repeated exclamations of “Rey” throughout the movies.

Initially, some Star Wars fans were puzzled when they saw John Boyega as a stormtrooper in the first trailer for The Force Awakens, as up until then, stormtroopers had been linked to the cloned soldiers from the prequels. However, it was later explained that the First Order, which emerged from the Empire’s remnants, resorted to kidnapping children and brainwashing them from a young age to maintain absolute loyalty among their troops. This change in recruitment methods, as shown in the film, clarified that Boyega’s character, Finn, was one of these abducted soldiers rather than a clone, leading to some initial bewilderment among a few fans.

It’s often pointed out that Star Wars has a rich history of featuring Black actors like Billy Dee Williams and Samuel L. Jackson in significant roles. However, some critics argue that Finn, played by John Boyega, who was initially presented as a potentially groundbreaking character—a stormtrooper turned Jedi—did not fully explore this promising storyline.

Boyega’s shift from criticizing Disney to criticizing fans stirs up some intriguing questions. Some people argue that it might be simpler to label critics as racists rather than confront Hollywood about subpar writing. After all, if the fan backlash were truly race-based, why did so many individuals advocate for Finn to become a Jedi? Why were fan theories and artwork showcasing his potential popular long before Disney missed the opportunity to develop it? The fans recognized that it made sense, and even the filmmakers seemed to understand this until J.J. Abrams removed the line that would have confirmed it for everyone.

Today, I was fortunate enough to be a part of the Academy’s private viewing of #TheRiseOfSkywalker. In an exciting revelation, director J.J. Abrams clarified that Finn was attempting to tell Rey that he possesses Force sensitivity!

— kaila ren (@kaila_ren) December 21, 2019

As a devoted cinema enthusiast, it seems to me that John Boyega and his companions might be overlooking a crucial point: Disney’s habit of employing diversity as a defensive mechanism against criticism. Instead of acknowledging their role in crafting a fragmented trilogy, the studio has steered the discourse towards race, making it more challenging to have an open and truthful dialogue about the evident shortcomings in storytelling.

Nate from Mr. H Reviews sums it up nicely here:

By the close of the day, Boyega had every justification to feel irritated; nonetheless, it might be wiser for his resentment to have stayed focused on the studio that disappointed him, rather than the fans who yearned for more from him than Disney was prepared to give in 2020. Casting aspersions on the fanbase is NEVER a tactic that leads to victory.

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2025-04-04 18:30