In an appearance the YouTube show Hot Ones, John Boyega tried not to be too spicy on the subject as he chomped down on hot wings, but he got real about the Star Wars sequel trilogy.
In short, the actor, who played Finn in the three films, feels Rian Johnson‘s divisive Episode VIII – The Last Jedi was the worst of the bunch.
Boyega had been asked to rank the three films he was in from best to worst.
He enthused, “Hell yeah, I’ll do it. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is most definitely the best. Second for me comes Star Wars 9 [Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker]. And the worst, in the most respectful sense, Episode VIII.”
The English actor added diplomatically, “But they’re all lovely.”
Both fans and Boyega himself had criticized Disney’s Star Wars films for sidelining the actor’s character — and even minimizing his presence as a Black leading man on the poster for overseas markets.
To British GQ in 2020, he noted, “[W]hat I would say to Disney is do not bring out a Black character, market them to be much more important in the franchise than they are and then have them pushed to the side. It’s not good…”
He added, “What they want you to say is, ‘I enjoyed being a part of it. It was a great experience…’ Nah, nah, nah….They gave all the nuance to [co-stars] Adam Driver, all the nuance to Daisy Ridley. Let’s be honest. Daisy knows this. Adam knows this…”
Boyega subsequently said his comments prompted a conversation with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, in which she reportedly showed support.
While he previously said he was done with Star Wars, he’s now open to the idea of returning, he told TechRadar, provided he’s enthusiastic about the script.
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