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British-Nigerian actor, John Boyega has slammed the Star Wars franchise and its fans while reflecting on the racist backlash.
The Bactor, 33, said the franchise is ‘so White that it’s like, a Black person existing in [it] was something,’ while appearing in the new two-part AppleTV+ documentary, Number One on the Call Sheet.
‘Star Wars always had the vibe of being in the most whitest, elite space,’ the actor, who previously claimed his role was ‘sidelined’ for white co-stars Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver said, as he criticized fans who can’t accept diverse casting.
‘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!”‘ he added.
Boyega played the franchise’s first black ex-stormtrooper, Finn, in The Force Awakens (2015) and its two sequels, The Last Jedi (2017) and The Rise of Skywalker (2019).
He also pointed out how fans tend to make a big deal out of the few Black characters in the franchise.
‘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!’
Despite his issues with the franchise, Boyega admitted that his first Star Wars film was ‘a fundamental moment’ in his career, and called it the ‘opportunity of a lifetime.’
‘We waited months for that. When that big call came in, that’s that call that all those stars talk about that changed their life and stuff. It’s like, “That’s it? That’s the call!” It’s such an attack on reality.’
Boyega previously criticized the franchise for significantly reducing his character’s importance from a co-lead in The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi to a smaller role in The Rise of Skywalker.
‘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,’ he said in a 2020 interview with British GQ.
At the time he claimed that the trilogy gave ‘all the nuance’ to main characters Rey (played by Ridley) and the villainous Kylo Ren (played by Driver.)
