The world is incontrovertibly a better place now that John Boyega is a movie star. It took longer than it should have —the actor made a scorching debut performance in Joe Cornish’s “Attack The Block” a few years back, but subsequent projects either failed to happen or mostly disappeared. But then he was cast as Finn in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” and now millions globally have been exposed to his charm and charisma.
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He’s been a model of modern movie stardom since, and has made smart decisions as to which projects to appear in. His latest might be his most canny career move: he’s signed on to star in Kathryn Bigelow’s as-yet-untitled next movie.
Reteaming the “Hurt Locker” Oscar winner for Best Director with writer Mark Boal and “Zero Dark Thirty” financier Megan Ellison, details for the film are mostly under wraps, other than that it’s apparently an exploration of the systemic racism in Detroit that sparked the explosive 1967 riots in the city. Boyega will join “Game Of Thrones” star Hannah Murray, who was linked to the project last month.
Boyega’s got a killer run of projects lined up, including James Ponsoldt’s Silicon Valley thriller “The Circle,” also starring Emma Watson and Tom Hanks, “Star Wars Episode VIII” and, most recently starring in and producing “Pacific Rim 2.” It looks like he’s building a career to last, and we couldn’t be happier about that.