Despite a handful of fun moments and plenty of hype, the Disney Star Wars films have managed to piss off just about everyone in the fandom. Among those people are the actors in the films themselves. John Boyega, who played Finn in the new trilogy, has explained that he's frustrated with Disney for how it handled characters of colour in the new films.
In a new interview with British GQ, Boyega explained that he felt that the series didn't know what to do with the character of Finn, despite making him a central figure in the promotional materials.
"It's so difficult to maneuver," he said. "You get yourself involved in projects and you're not necessarily going to like everything. [But] 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. I'll say it straight up."
Boyega added that the problem also extended to Rose Tico, who was played by Kelly Marie Tran.
"Like, you guys knew what to do with Daisy Ridley, you knew what to do with Adam Driver," he continued. "You knew what to do with these other people, but when it came to Kelly Marie Tran, when it came to John Boyega, you know fuck all. So what do you want me to say? What they want you to say is, 'I enjoyed being a part of it. It was a great experience …' Nah, nah, nah. I'll take that deal when it's a great experience. They gave all the nuance to Adam Driver, all the nuance to Daisy Ridley. Let's be honest. Daisy knows this. Adam knows this. Everybody knows. I'm not exposing anything."
Boyega added that he's thankful to have experienced it because of the opportunities it provided him and the way it affected his life.
"I'm the only cast member who had their own unique experience of that franchise based on their race," he added. "Let's just leave it like that. It makes you angry with a process like that. It makes you much more militant; it changes you. Because you realize, 'I got given this opportunity but I'm in an industry that wasn't even ready for me.'"
Boyega has since followed up on the comments with a tweet:
In a new interview with British GQ, Boyega explained that he felt that the series didn't know what to do with the character of Finn, despite making him a central figure in the promotional materials.
"It's so difficult to maneuver," he said. "You get yourself involved in projects and you're not necessarily going to like everything. [But] 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. I'll say it straight up."
Boyega added that the problem also extended to Rose Tico, who was played by Kelly Marie Tran.
"Like, you guys knew what to do with Daisy Ridley, you knew what to do with Adam Driver," he continued. "You knew what to do with these other people, but when it came to Kelly Marie Tran, when it came to John Boyega, you know fuck all. So what do you want me to say? What they want you to say is, 'I enjoyed being a part of it. It was a great experience …' Nah, nah, nah. I'll take that deal when it's a great experience. They gave all the nuance to Adam Driver, all the nuance to Daisy Ridley. Let's be honest. Daisy knows this. Adam knows this. Everybody knows. I'm not exposing anything."
Boyega added that he's thankful to have experienced it because of the opportunities it provided him and the way it affected his life.
"I'm the only cast member who had their own unique experience of that franchise based on their race," he added. "Let's just leave it like that. It makes you angry with a process like that. It makes you much more militant; it changes you. Because you realize, 'I got given this opportunity but I'm in an industry that wasn't even ready for me.'"
Boyega has since followed up on the comments with a tweet:
These conversations and me sharing isn't about a witch hunt. It's about clarity to an anger that can be seen as selfish, disruptive and self indulgent. Obviously in hopes of better change.Bruh. In short. I said what I said. Love to you all seriously. Your support is amazing ! ❤️
— John Boyega (@JohnBoyega) September 2, 2020
