Star Wars' John Boyega blasts Disney: 'They gave all the nuance' to Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley

John Boyega
(Image credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

John Boyega has searched his feelings about starring in the new Star Wars films — and he's ready to get brutally honest.

The actor opened up in a new interview with GQ about the recently-concluded Star Wars sequel trilogy, voicing disappointment with how his character of Finn was handled.

"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," Boyega said. "It's not good. I'll say it straight up."

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Even outside of his own character, Boyega also took issue with the way other characters played by people of color in the movies were treated, including Kelly Marie Tran's Rose, who had very little screen time in The Rise of Skywalker.

"Like, you guys knew what to do with Daisy Ridley, you knew what to do with Adam Driver," Boyega said. "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 f--- 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."

Boyega did, however, mount a bit of a defense of director J.J. Abrams, who stepped in to helm 2019's The Rise of Skywalker after Colin Trevorrow left the project. The film ultimately received the worst reviews of any of the Star Wars films made under Disney.

"Everybody needs to leave my boy alone," Boyega said of Abrams. "He wasn't even supposed to come back and try to save your sh-t."

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Brendan Morrow

Brendan is a staff writer at The Week. A graduate of Hofstra University with a degree in journalism, he also writes about horror films for Bloody Disgusting and has previously contributed to The Cheat Sheet, Heavy, WhatCulture, and more. He lives in New York City surrounded by Star Wars posters.