It looks like we may have seen the last of Finn in live-action Star Wars, as actor John Boyega has revealed in an interview with Variety that he has no real interest moving forward. He feels his work on The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker “was good” for him as he moves on to try his hands at a more diverse line-up of projects.
At this point, I’m cool off it. I’m good off it. 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 ‘[Episode] VII’ to ‘[Episode] IX’ was good for me. To be fair, [with] 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.
John Boyega
It’s no wonder that he may have not had any active interest anymore, as he had faced quite a bit of racist backlash for his initial casting. When it was hinted that he may become the face of the franchise and the next Jedi, there was a massive movement online. The prequel trilogy even led to the creation of the so-called “Fandom Menace” that has shown its fangs recently with Moses Ingram’s addition to the franchise in Obi-Wan Kenobi. He even reflects on how different the reaction to the backlash was towards Ingram in comparison to his time with the franchise.
It doesn’t make me feel bitter at all. It makes me feel like sometimes you are that guy. And my dad taught me that. Sometimes you’re not the guy to get the blessing and sometimes you are Moses, you know, you lead the people to the mountain, but you see the destination. You don’t get to go in, you get others to go in. And that’s where you get your happiness from. And for me to see other people accepted, and then at the same time to see that the studios now are like, ‘Okay, cool. This is not an elephant in the room conversation. We need to support our Black client.’ It’s fantastic.
John Boyega
It’s a shame that we’ll likely not see Finn’s character return, as the potential of exploring a former Stormtrooper turning good was such a compelling storyline when the initial trilogy was started.
Source: Variety
