We know that there’s a new Rey Skywalker movie incoming, and a lot of fans are curious if John Boyega would be making a comeback as Finn.
With Boyega’s experience making the Sequel Trilogy though, he has come out to voice his irritation at the toxic SW fandom. Talking to Entertainment Weekly, Boyega says, “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!’… Lemme tell ya, Star Wars always had the vibe of being in the most whitest, elite space. It’s a franchise that’s so white that a Black person existing in [it] was something.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoiRJnr-rtU
Though Star Wars does have its black characters like Lando Calrissian and Mace Windu, Boyega does say that the original and Prequel films were still pretty behind when it came to inclusivity. Boyega continues:
“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!’ It’s like telling me how many cookie chips are in the cookie dough. It’s like, they just scattered that in there, bro!”
Admittedly, Star Wars under Disney has tried to be more inclusive—which has not been met with the most rational reactions by toxic fans. If anything, Star Wars/Disney has started getting criticism for not protecting its actors from social media backlash. Besides Boyega, actresses like Daisy Ridley and Kelly Marie Tran have been bullied off social media; Obi-Wan Kenobi actress Moses Ingram was also met with a lot of online hate for her Inquisitor character.
Should Boyega come back onboard, I would love for his Finn character to get a proper arc, but should the backlash come, Disney should already have a system in place to go up against the toxic fandom.
