John Boyega was asked by ‘Hot Ones’ to rank the movies in his ‘Star Wars’ trilogy, which started on a high note in 2015 with the beloved ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ and then polarized with 2017’s ‘The Last Jedi’ and 2019’s ‘The Rise of Skywalker’.
“‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ is definitely the best,” Boyega replied. “Secondly, for me, comes [‘The Rise of Skywalker’]. The worst – in the most respectful sense – is [‘The Last Jedi’]. But they are all adorable.
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Boyega smiled and cast a sideways glance, alluding to the fact that many “Star Wars” fans already know about Boyega’s grievances with the space franchise. He notably told GQ magazine in 2020, “What I would say to Disney is don’t bring out a black character, market them to be much more important in the franchise than they are, and then put them aside. That’s not good. I’m going to say that right now.
“You knew what to do with Daisy Ridley, you knew what to do with Adam Driver,” Boyega continued at the time. “But when it came to Kelly Marie Tran, when it came to John Boyega, you know everything. So what do you want me to tell you? What they want you to say is, “I liked being a part of it.” It was a great experience…’ No, no, no. I’ll take this case when it’s a great experience. They gave all the nuance to Adam Driver, all the nuance to Daisy Ridley. Let’s be honest. Margaret knows it. Adam knows it. Everyone knows. I don’t show anything. »
Boyega has become the rare studio-employed actor to publicly criticize his own outspokenness, and he’s glad he spoke up.
“I’m surprised the actors haven’t said anything before,” Boyega told Esquire magazine recently. “Because that’s what creates the whole taboo of it all… I’m just happy now that the conversations are happening on a mass level, so it doesn’t feel like an actor is a rebel against the system.”
“Once you make certain statements, everyone knows where you are at, so people don’t approach you trying to play the game,” Boyega added. “Since then, I’ve worked with Netflix, I’ve worked with Sony and other studios, and they know very well how I am, how I function, and they found that they could still do their job. When you’re the only actor saying it, it becomes like, ‘Oh my God.’ But I’m happy now.
Whatever criticism Boyega has made about “Star Wars,” it has never stopped the actor from loving the space franchise. He told Total Film magazine earlier this year that he remains a “massive, massive” Star Wars fan.
“I’m still in love with it. I love it,” the actor said. “But it’s almost nicer not having to be in it and not having to deal with it. It’s weird, you become a fan again and you see yourself in the games.
Next up for Boyega is Netflix’s “They Cloned Tyrone,” starring Jamie Foxx and Teyonnah Parris. The film airs on July 21.
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