STAR WARS Actor John Boyega Says He Was Contacted By Disney After Speaking Out Against The Franchise

STAR WARS Actor John Boyega Says He Was Contacted By Disney After Speaking Out Against The Franchise

After speaking out against Disney for the way his character, Finn, was treated in the Star Wars sequels, John Boyega has now revealed that he received a call from the studio for an "honest" conversation...

By JoshWilding - Nov 03, 2020 02:11 AM EST
Filed Under: Star Wars
Source: The Hollywood Reporter

The Star Wars sequels have proven to be every bit as controversial as the prequels (perhaps more so), while stars Oscar Isaac and John Boyega have not been overly complimentary about their experiences in a Galaxy Far, Far Away. Ultimately, they were both took issue with the way their characters were treated, with Boyega particularly disappointed by Finn's story arc. 

As he said in an interview earlier this 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." 

Now, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Boyega has revealed that he was actually contacted by a Disney executive shortly after his comments went viral.

"It was a very honest, a very transparent conversation," the actor admitted. "There was a lot of explaining on their end in terms of the way they saw things. They gave me a chance also to explain what my experience was like."

"I'd hope that me being so open with my career, at this stage, would help the next man, the guy that wants to be the assistant DOP, the guy that wants to be a producer. I hope that the conversation is not such a taboo or elephant in the room now, because someone just came and said it."

Disney definitely made a mistake with the way Finn was utilized in The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker, and to see him sidelined that way was a real disappointment. 

Unfortunately, Finn's story is unlikely to continue on screen, but Disney has hopefully learned from past mistakes when it comes to the portrayal of diverse characters in this Galaxy Far, Far Away.

STAR WARS: George Lucas Scrapped Plans For A Bombshell Obi-Wan And Qui-Gon Twist In THE PHANTOM MENACE
Related:

STAR WARS: George Lucas Scrapped Plans For A Bombshell Obi-Wan And Qui-Gon Twist In THE PHANTOM MENACE

Rumored Details On Four Upcoming Marvel Television Shows Revealed (And When We'll Likely See them)
Recommended For You:

Rumored Details On Four Upcoming Marvel Television Shows Revealed (And When We'll Likely See them)

DISCLAIMER: As a user generated site and platform, ComicBookMovie.com is protected under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and "Safe Harbor" provisions.

This post was submitted by a user who has agreed to our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. ComicBookMovie.com will disable users who knowingly commit plagiarism, piracy, trademark or copyright infringement. Please CONTACT US for expeditious removal of copyrighted/trademarked content. CLICK HERE to learn more about our copyright and trademark policies.

Note that ComicBookMovie.com, and/or the user who contributed this post, may earn commissions or revenue through clicks or purchases made through any third-party links contained within the content above.

1 2
dracula
dracula - 11/3/2020, 2:22 AM
Just got to say yeah Fynn was a wasted character with potential, but really that is everyone in the sequel trilogy and really the only characters with any kind of development in Rise Of Skywalker were Rey and Kylo (no matter how badly it was handled).

Like yeah Oscar Issac could make a lot of the same complaints, he was suppose to be the third part of the new trio and he got even less to do
kitheka
kitheka - 11/3/2020, 3:37 AM
@dracula - But only Boyega was intentionally under marketed in china due to the Chinese's racist attitudes towards black people.
dracula
dracula - 11/3/2020, 3:40 AM
@kitheka - has he brought that up? Most of what ive heard has just been about how he was used in the film
Carnage1991
Carnage1991 - 11/3/2020, 2:26 AM
I'm glad he was open about his time.

I really liked his character in The Force Awakens and felt so disappointed with his filler story in The Last Jedi.
99OPTIMISTPRIME
99OPTIMISTPRIME - 11/3/2020, 2:34 AM
I like that he was honest about being dissatisfied with his Star Wars role. But that doesn't really have anything to do with Disney or marketing. His beef is with J.J. Abrams and Rian Johnson. If race was a reason why his character had a lesser role, then it's literally their fault. Boyega knows that, but he doesn't wanna attack those guys publicly.
bkmeijer2
bkmeijer2 - 11/3/2020, 2:50 AM
@99OPTIMISTPRIME - I think because Disney is easy to blame as a faceless corporation, but I think the people at Disney and Lucasfilm known damn well who Boyega is talking to
kitheka
kitheka - 11/3/2020, 3:41 AM
@99OPTIMISTPRIME - he was intentionally under marketed in China due to how racist the Chinese are to black people. This has been well documented.
aresww3
aresww3 - 11/3/2020, 2:37 AM
wow ray fisher. once again this guy just showing you up for how you can be decent when doing this stuff. He didn't try and cancel the people who made the China poster, he tried to have conversation with them to make them better people and make things easier for the next black guy in his position or lower.

LEARN I STAND WITH RAY FISHER CLOWNS.
Doomsday8888
Doomsday8888 - 11/3/2020, 2:46 AM
>Mama Disney thinkin about the greater good

lel, more jokes at twelve.

They don't care about your feelings, they just want to tick some boxes and get the moolah by throwing Mulan.

Guess people are waking up tho.
Spock0Clock
Spock0Clock - 11/3/2020, 2:48 AM
I will defend a fair amount about the new movies, but the way they used so many of their characters like pointless filler was inexcusable.
bkmeijer2
bkmeijer2 - 11/3/2020, 2:51 AM
@Spock0Clock - not just character, but various story elements feel like filler too. Tone it all down a notch, and a pretty solid story and character ensemble exists
Superspecialawesomeguy
Superspecialawesomeguy - 11/3/2020, 3:05 AM
"STAR WARS Actor John Boyega Says He Was Contacted By Disney After Speaking Out Against The Franchise"

Hopefully it turned out better for him than it did the Jonas Brothers.



Tasmaniac
Tasmaniac - 11/3/2020, 3:16 AM
[frick] I’m sick of this “because I’m black” shit as a reason some people feel they were treated poorly every single time. Is there a shit ton of racism in the world? Of course there bloody is. And that’s [frick]ed. But Jesus Christ mate, EVERY character was treated like shit in the sequel trilogy whether they were black, white or Asian, OT or new, because the writers, directors and producers all had no [frick]ing idea what they were doing from one movie to the next. No plan. No plan at all. At least you got paid millions of dollars to be hard done by. We paid money to watch movies we had waited to see for longer than you’ve been alive and they turned out to be shit. Get over yourself you entitled, whingeing prick.
kitheka
kitheka - 11/3/2020, 3:54 AM
@Tasmaniac - he had his unique experience for why his character particularly was mistreated. And yes, it sometimes had to do with racism. Regardless of being paid millions of dollars, injustices and discrimination shouldn't be tolerated.
1 2
View Recorder