John Boyega Was Surprised When His ‘Star Wars’ Role Kept Getting Smaller In Sequels & Seems Happily Done With The Franchise

Even though you can trace John Boyega’s real Hollywood breakout back to his role in “Attack the Block,” it wasn’t until he showed up in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” that the actor became a household name. And it’s because Boyega is a fine actor and is one of the best parts of the “Star Wars” sequel trilogy, that fans were shocked and saddened to see his role as Finn keep diminishing with each new film. Especially after the marketing for ‘Force Awakens’ put him front and center. Well, Boyega is with you on that. 

Speaking to The Daily Beast, John Boyega talked a bit about his experience working on the “Star Wars” films. And apparently, the actor was just as surprised as the rest of us that he wasn’t the new lead of the franchise after ‘Force Awakens.’

READ MORE: John Boyega Isn’t Interested In A Marvel Role: “That’s Not In The Vision For Me Now”

During the interview, the writer said to Boyega that he was “​​under the impression” that the actor would be the new face of “Star Wars” because of the marketing for ‘Force Awakens.’ Boyega replied, “So was I!” 

However, when the film was released, and in subsequent films, it’s clear that Disney didn’t really have that same idea. Boyega’s role was made smaller and smaller until he was just part of an ensemble and didn’t really contribute to the main story. In a separate interview on SiriusXM, Boyega talked more about that and why he doesn’t like how studios will sometimes market Black leads, but then release the film where that actor is hardly in the movie. 

“Even if you wanna remove race out of it, just from a business perspective, don’t, don’t tease no Black, you know what that does to Black people?” Boyega said. “You know how you guys got everybody motivated around Black Panther? Don’t tease no Black Panther, market a Black actor and switch and bait. You don’t do it with white actors. You don’t do it. You don’t. So don’t think you can have this skill set where you’re gonna put everybody on plasters. You got white people and Black people excited. And then we come in and they in it for five minutes. They die at the beginning, or they’re the best friend.”

READ MORE: ‘Breaking’ Star John Boyega Says Michael K. Williams Was “Paid Peanuts” And Did It “For The Art”

As for his future with “Star Wars,” Boyega is happy to put it behind him and let his character live on in other mediums without his involvement. 

“At this point I’m cool off it. I’m good off it,” he explained. “I think to be fair, what the allies that I’ve found within Joel Taylor and Jamie Foxx, Teyonah Parris, Viola Davis, all these people I’ve been working with, versatility is my path. And I think, I think Finn is at a good confirmation point where you can just enjoy him in other things, the games, the animation. But I feel like, yeah, seven to nine was good for me.”

Boyega next appears in the upcoming thriller, “Breaking,” which arrives in theaters on August 26, and then in “The Woman King” on September 16.