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[EviLore]

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John Boyega called out “Star Wars” for being “so white” during an interview as part of the new Apple TV+ original documentary “Number One on the Call Sheet: Black Leading Men in Hollywood” (via Entertainment Weekly). Boyega debuted as Finn in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and reprised the character in “The Last Jedi” and “The Rise of Skywalker.” His role in the sequel trilogy led to online harassment from racist and toxic “Star Wars” fans upset with a Black actor playing a lead hero in the space franchise.

“Lemme tell ya, ‘Star Wars’ always had the vibe of being in the most whitest, elite space. It’s a franchise that’s so white that a Black person existing in [it] was something,” Boyega said in the documentary. “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!”

“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,'” the actor added, while also acknowledging that being cast in the franchise was a “fundamental moment” in his career.
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Tons of Star Wars fans, myself included, wanted Finn to become a Jedi or have some sort of prominent character arc. Disney went in a different direction. This kind of toxic discourse only ends up pitting everyone against each other.

 

[RagnarokIV]

Disney fucked him off, not the fans.

A lot of fans wanted him to be the main dude. And from the original trailers I thought he was basically gonna be a Kyle Katarn (my favorite SW character) stand in from the original Dark Forces. (Storm Trooper defects etc).

They turned him into a shitty black comic sidekick but nobody wanted it.

 

[NickFire]

I don't understand why he has that opinion. I never heard any complaints about his character that didn't revolve around the belief he deserved more.

 

[EviLore]

I don't understand why he has that opinion. I never heard any complaints about his character that didn't revolve around the belief he deserved more.

He mentioned that there were online trolls sending him hate messages. Guess he doesn't realize that they're not a representative sampling of the fandom.

 

[Hookshot]

Finn got shafted but it wasn't the fans fault.

 

[YCoCg]

I get there's idiot fans but a lot of us actually WANTED better for him, him being sidelined to a jokey side quest character was one of the annoying parts of The Last Jedi when it felt like the material was there for a more interesting story having a reformed stormtrooper become a Jedi.

 

[Great Auk]

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John Boyega called out “Star Wars” for being “so white” during an interview as part of the new Apple TV+ original documentary “Number One on the Call Sheet: Black Leading Men in Hollywood” (via Entertainment Weekly). Boyega debuted as Finn in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and reprised the character in “The Last Jedi” and “The Rise of Skywalker.” His role in the sequel trilogy led to online harassment from racist and toxic “Star Wars” fans upset with a Black actor playing a lead hero in the space franchise.

“Lemme tell ya, ‘Star Wars’ always had the vibe of being in the most whitest, elite space. It’s a franchise that’s so white that a Black person existing in [it] was something,” Boyega said in the documentary. “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!”

“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,'” the actor added, while also acknowledging that being cast in the franchise was a “fundamental moment” in his career.
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Tons of Star Wars fans, myself included, wanted Finn to become a Jedi or have some sort of prominent character arc. Disney went in a different direction. This kind of toxic discourse only ends up pitting everyone against each other.

This is so boring now. In the 1970s the United States was almost 90% white.

Casting reflected that accordingly.

 

[Kvally]

Didn't he end up having the biggest black roll in the entire franchise?

 

[SJRB]

This reeks of desperation. Just a signal to Hollywood that screams "look at me, I still exist".

It's a Hollywood actor who was once in a mega production but hasn't really been relevant in any way since, who is shitting on a fanbase by absurd generalizations and pulling the race victim card.

Pathetic.

 

[drganon]

Its not the fans fault the writers sidelined him and everyone else in favour of ma-rey-sue.

 

[winjer]

Another idiot that thinks it's ok to insult the fan base....

 

[kruis]

Why is he calling Star Wars fans racists? We're not calling the shots. He should direct his anger at Kathleen Kennedy, the directors and script writers who minimized his role in the movies. And don't forget Disney's Chinese PR department who almost wiped Boyega from this poster.

 

[Coconutt]

This guy really thinks its the whites preventing him from being the lead in a SW movie and not that Disney is afraid of offending the Asian countries, its already been proven Disney did things such as edit Boyega to be smaller on their posters for the Asian market there's no way Disney would make him the lead if money is all Disney is after.

 

[ÆMNE22A!C]

Again. On point. Then again my first post wasn't necessary. Apologies.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Just an ill-conceived, ill-planned set of boring movies. Him having a larger role would have been better but they still would have sucked.

 

[Digital-Aftertaste]

i.e. cannot attack Disney lest he wants to get blackballed from the industry.

 

[jason10mm]

This is so boring now. In the 1970s the United States was almost 90% white.

Casting reflected that accordingly.

Star Wars has (almost always) been filmed and cast out of England. They were 95% white in the 1980s.

Boyegas own parents immigrated to the UK, likely after Star Wars was already made, there were virtually no black brits around at the time to even be included.

As for his own role, that was just sabotaged by Lucasfilm.

 

[IDKFA]

He mentioned that there were online trolls sending him hate messages. Guess he doesn't realize that they're not a representative sampling of the fandom.

This.

As far as I remember, most people wanted him to be a main character.

I thought he was going to be a Jedi. They certainly teased that in EPVII.

Instead he just became a comic sidekick. He was wasted.

It's sad that a few dick heads sending him hate, but they're were not the majority. Far from it in fact.

 

[Kacho]

His side quest with Rose in TLJ killed his character.

Though tbf, TLJ killed the sequel trilogy.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

They turned him into a shitty black comic sidekick but nobody wanted it.

This. You want to shit on someone shit on Disney, not the fans. People would have go ballistic about another Lando as main chracter.

 

[MilkyJoe]

i.e. cannot attack Disney lest he wants to get blackballed from the industry.

He saw what happened to that snow white bitch, Rachel something

 

[Days like these...]

I wonder what happened between the trailers and him becoming the sidekick or was it intentional misdirection and he was sidekick from the beginning.

 

[Nankatsu]

Star Wars fans according to Boyega:

In all honestly I would much rather have preferred Boyega as a lead rather than Rey. And quite possibly most of the fans would prefer it too.

He is shitting on the fans when his lack of protagonism was a pure business decision trying to push the female lead agenda.

If he wants to complain maybe grow a pair and actually complain about the real culprits, no?

 

[K' Dash]

Dude could have been a great main, Disney fucked him up, not the fans.

 

[Kilau]

He was the best part of the farce awakens then he was wasted in the other two movies. Shame.

 

[HAYA8U5A]

Guess racist Star Wars fans only wanting white protagonists explains why Rey got a lot more hate than Finn. Wait?

 

[Punished Miku]

I give him a pass because Star Wars fans are fucking nuts. He probably isn't aware of it, but a small and largely silent group of fans actually wanted him to be the lead before Rey was confirmed. He's a great actor, and it's pretty interesting to have a force sensitive Storm Trooper awaken and go rogue. Instead they just turned him into comic relief, erased him from the China movie posters, and he probably got endless amounts of freaks tweeting him crazy shit. And I have no doubt a ton of people are racist and those people unfortunately stick out among the comments.

 

[LordCBH]

Everything I’ve seen is most people wanted him as the hero. There was zero chance of it because Disney needed it to do well in China.

 

[Nankatsu]

Everything I’ve seen is most people wanted him as the hero. There was zero chance of it because Disney needed it to do well in China.

 

[DKehoe]

He saw what happened to that snow white bitch, Rachel something

You've gotta be careful with those Disney adults. You never know when you might run into one. It's a small world after all.

 

[calico]

Is he suggesting he should have had the lead role instead of Daisy Ridley? Pretty sexist of him imo.

 

[RCX]

China does not enjoy the black man

China provides a massive share of Disney's profits

Disney is therefore happy to kiss China's ass

I'd have vastly preferred Finn to be the protagonist, a turncoat stormtrooper story could've gone in a number of interesting directions. However we got Ray and the god-awful shit sandwich of a trilogy instead, by the second film they'd completely lost me as a fan. Haven't looked at the franchise since. And I say this as someone who bought multiple VHS versions of the original trilogy.

 

[near]

I actually watched the first episode of that documentary the other night, it's interesting and worth watching. On topic, I get what he's trying to say. He probably endured a lot of abuse from a toxic minority within the fan base, which may have skewed his perspective further. But I don't think he's necessarily calling out Star Wars fans here, rather, he's speaking about black actors in leading roles within prominent franchises.

 

[Tertullian]

Why is this guy blaming me for the uber-progressive J. J. Abrams and Rian Johnson's inability to plot or write or come up with anything interesting for their characters to do?

 

[Great Auk]

China does not enjoy the black man

China provides a massive share of Disney's profits

Disney is therefore happy to kiss China's ass

I'd have vastly preferred Finn to be the protagonist, a turncoat stormtrooper story could've gone in a number of interesting directions. However we got Ray and the god-awful shit sandwich of a trilogy instead, by the second film they'd completely lost me as a fan. Haven't looked at the franchise since. And I say this as someone who bought multiple VHS versions of the original trilogy.

If you think about it, Disney is being truly progressive for making Boyega so small on that Chinese poster that BB-8 takes up 300% more space on it and is front and center lol

Progressives are cultural relativists, meaning all cultures can be different but none are better, all are equal.

They are simply respecting China's culture of being outrageously racist toward black people and minimizing Boyega's presence on the poster accordingly.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

But I don't think he's necessarily calling out Star Wars fans here, rather, he's speaking about black actors in leading roles within prominent franchises.

This doesn't seem to line up with his quote:

“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!”

“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,'” the actor added, while also acknowledging that being cast in the franchise was a “fundamental moment” in his career.

 

[SlimySnake]

I am sorry, but he needs to be upset at the writers over at Disney. Not the fans. They did him dirty.

Yes, there was some backlash early on iirc but the first movie was well received and made almost 2 billion dollars.

Rian Johnson literally sidelined him. And JJ turned him into the third wheel after setting up a romance between him and Rey in favor of a completely unearned kiss with Kylo. I wanted him to fuck Rey.

 

[AJUMP23]

I thought he was the most interesting character, and his story-line got the shaft. We don't even know what he wanted to tell REY. I think he has misplaced frustration. He should blame, Rian for ruining the trilogy and JJ for helping.

 

[EviLore]

I am sorry, but he needs to be upset at the writers over at Disney. Not the fans. They did him dirty.

Yes, there was some backlash early on iirc but the first movie was well received and made almost 2 billion dollars.

Rian Johnson literally sidelined him. And JJ turned him into the third wheel after setting up a romance between him and Rey in favor of a completely unearned kiss with Kylo. I wanted him to fuck Rey.

Rian friendzoned him and introduced Rose as a way to honor his fat high school girlfriend.

 

[crunchyBiscuits]

Having Finn be the main guy in the sequel trilogy would've been a lot more compelling imo than a Skywalker skywalking all over the place. Writers, directors, marketers did him dirty

 

[Punished Miku]

Having Finn be the main guy in the sequel trilogy would've been a lot more compelling imo than a Skywalker skywalking all over the place. Writers, directors, marketers did him dirty

And he's flawed, literally coming from a Stormtrooper background. He had his first light saber fight be a near disaster, then got mauled by Kylo. Just have Luke step in to save him after that slash and the rest of the trilogy would have been so much better.

 

[InterMusketeer]

I think the criticism was more nuanced than just anti-black racism. All stormtroopers were assumed to be clones so his appearance was seen as rewriting the lore. Add the fact that they went out of their way to get a diverse cast, and yeah all of that did feel like pandering.

 

[AnotherOne]

Another idiot that thinks it's ok to insult the fan base....

"Cotton"

 

[SlimySnake]

Rian friendzoned him and introduced Rose as a way to honor his fat high school girlfriend.

Damn. I forgot about Rose, but yes, I was really pissed off at how Rose was shoehorned in as a new romantic interest. As if a black guy is not good enough for a hot female lead. That to me is more offensive than anything else.

P.S Shadow of Tomb Raider did something similar. Started off the game with that fat black (apologies if he was hawaiian) dude totally in love with Lara, and all of a sudden, a mid looking chick is introduced mid game and he gets over Lara fast. I personally thought that it wouldve been more progressive to have Lara settle for a fat guy who is loyal to her, but clearly the female writer of the franchise didnt think him worthy. Just like Rian, and even JJ who randomly inserted that kiss at the end with Kylo. Fuck off.

 

[TheAtomicPile]

Maybe you should have let them Disney Plus you, John.

 

[calico]

Lando takes out the second Death Star.

A black voiced character (probably the most iconic character of the franchise) takes out the big bad of the whole OT.

 

[near]

This doesn't seem to line up with his quote:

The broader context of the documentary is about black actors in leading roles and the impact certain black actors have had in films. The statement he makes relates to that, and he speaks from his own experience with being cast in Star Wars. I don't think he is attacking fans. I suppose you could take it personally if you supported his casting.

 

[Punished Miku]

I think the criticism was more nuanced than just anti-black racism. All stormtroopers were assumed to be clones so his appearance was seen as rewriting the lore. Add the fact that they went out of their way to get a diverse cast, and yeah all of that did feel like pandering.

Could be clones in their prime. Scooping up people and drafting them after they got destroyed in RotJ.

 

[Fake]

He mentioned that there were online trolls sending him hate messages. Guess he doesn't realize that they're not a representative sampling of the fandom.

This stupid generalization is destroying ever opinion or conversation around the subject. I hate those news Star Wars movies, but John Boyega was a good actor in those movies.

For all of them to just classify critic as a hate is very stupid.

 

[Madflavor]

Finn was actually the perfect foil to Kylo. Kylo Ren believed he deserved power because he was the grandson of Darth Vader. Finn was a low ranking Stormtrooper who clean toilets on the side. The set up was right fucking there, like grade school T-Ball. For all that talk about how special bloodline doesn’t matter, and how anyone can be special, they sure dropped the ball on that didn’t they? The wrong character was the protagonist.