After starring in Joe Cornish's Attack The Block, John Boyega became a household name as Finn in the Star Wars sequel trilogy. However, Star Wars proved to be a rocky ride for Boyega – thrilling, naturally, but also marred by racist online abuse and Finn being sidelined as the trilogy unfurled. "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," he told British GQ in 2020.
Speaking to Total Film magazine in the latest issue, which features Fast X on the cover, Boyega explains he's said his piece on those comments. "I’ve said what I said on it, and that doesn’t change overnight," he says. "We handled that years ago. [There’s no point] recycling the same story that’s been for two years."
However, Boyega did explain he's still a "massive, massive" fan of Star Wars. "I was the person on set correcting stuff," he laughs. "Like the flying jet troopers that we had in The Rise of Skywalker. Poe had been saying, 'They fly now' and I thought they had seen the flying jet troopers from [animated TV series] The Clone Wars. I play the games on Battlefront. I have a robust relationship with the whole Star Wars stuff."
He adds of his love for the franchise: "My first interaction with Star Wars was a Darth Maul figure. I’m a '90s baby so I came during the prequels. I was like, 'Bloody hell, man.' I didn’t know what it was but I knew it looked cool and there were spaceships and glowsticks that could slash your wrist off. Then I went back to the old Star Wars after. OK, I’m guilty – I did say that the effects are shit when I was younger! I didn’t know any better. Then I grew into maturity and was in love with it. I still am in love with it. I bloody love it. But it’s almost nicer not having to be in it, and not having to deal with that. It’s weird, you just go back to being a fan again and see yourself in the games."
Boyega also shares that he watches all of the Disney Plus Star Wars shows, and "loves" them all.
Inside the new issue of Total Film magazine, Boyega also talks in depth about his latest role in Breaking, based on the true story of Brian Brown-Easley. The true-life thriller explores the circumstances that led the ex-Marine to walk into a Wells Fargo bank in Georgia clutching a note that read: "I have a bomb".
Breaking is available now on digital. For much more from Boyega on Star Wars, Steve McQueen, and becoming a producer, pick up a copy of the new issue of Total Film magazine (fronted by Fast X) when it lands on shelves this Thursday, March 30.
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