The Star Wars and Star Trek franchises both have loyal fanbases, though there's rarely any crossover between them. Still, while Lucasfilm's Galaxy Far, Far Away has found a greater level of success, most can agree that each has good and bad points.
John Boyega played Finn in the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Original plans called for the former Stormtrooper to be a Jedi, but J.J. Abrams and Rian Johnson's competing visions made a mess of the character's story arc (something Boyega has never shied away from criticising).
The actor recently appeared at Dragon Con and revealed (via SFFGazette.com) which of these iconic sci-fi franchises he's backing.
"I’m an old school Star Wars fan, and if you’re a Trekkie and you’ve met me at the booths, you would find that I would mention that I don’t like Star Trek," Boyega said. "I just think that on the Trekkie side, they like to talk about it. On the Star Wars side, we just get active. With Star Wars, you’ve got to talk while the war is going on."
Despite that, he believes that Star Wars could take some cues from one specific aspect of Star Trek. "In Star Trek, they give you time to have discussions. I think there’s something Star Wars can learn from that, actually. In terms of me appearing in [Star Trek], I’ve got to stay on team. I’m a lightsaber guy."
Before helming The Force Awakens and The Rise of Skywalker, Abrams stepped behind the camera to direct Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness, meaning he's experienced the best of both worlds. Fans of these franchises had significant issues with his approach to them.
As for Boyega, he took toxic Star Wars fans to task earlier this year while reflecting on the racism he encountered while playing Finn.
"Lemme tell ya, Star Wars always had the vibe of being in the most whitest, elite space," he said. "It's a franchise that's so white that a Black person existing in [it] was something."
"You can always tell it's something when some Star Wars fans try to say, 'Well, we had Lando Calrissian and had Samuel L. Jackson!'" Boyega continued. "It's like telling me how many cookie chips are in the cookie dough. It's like, they just scattered that in there, bro!"
"They're okay with us playing the best friend, but once we touch their heroes, once we lead, once we trailblaze, it's like, 'Oh my God, it's just a bit too much! They're pandering,'" he added, referencing the now-expected backlash when a franchise like Star Wars casts a Black actor in a lead role.
While Daisy Ridley is expected to reprise her role as Rey for a new Star Wars movie directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, there's been nothing to suggest we'll also see Boyega return as Finn (he likely doesn't want to either). We may get to find out whether he decided to tell her about being Force-sensitive, though.
Feel free to weigh in with your thoughts on Boyega's remarks in the usual place.