John Boyega announced during an appearance on SiriusXM’s “Tell Me Everything with John Fugelsang” that he will not be returning to the Star Wars franchise.
The English actor who plays Finn in the iconic film series said he is ready to move on. “At this point, I’m cool off it. I’m good off it,” he said. “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.”
Boyega continued, “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.”
Additionally, the actor discussed the racist criticism he received from fans of the franchise while playing the character in the film. Boyega compared his experience to fellow Star Wars actor Moses Ingram. He praised actor Ewan McGregor for supporting Ingram, who starred in the series as the Inquisitor Reva. However, Boyega claimed Disney did not show him the same support when he dealt with racism for his star role.
“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,” Boyega explained. “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.”
He added, “Moses Ingram being protected makes me feel protected. It makes me feel like, ‘Okay, cool. I am not the elephant in the room.’ Because when I started, it wasn’t really a conversation you could bring up.”
You can watch a clip of the interview down below: