John Boyega accuses Disney of pushing his Star Wars character aside

[tk924]

Mr B didn't seem to be vocal about this during filming. Guess he had to wait until the check cleared.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

For me the real victim of the ST was Mark Hamill. The way Luke was treated was terrible to both the actor and the fans. People were led to expect the return of Like Skywalker the hero and the films were marketed this way. The name of RoS even implied he might return (a possibility after Carrie Fisher passed).

Bravo.

100% correct.

But you’re too kind. I think they completely missed on all 3 original characters...in one form or another.

Just didn’t get Star Wars. And with another franchise that may not have been a requirement - but not the case with this one that was unique.

Through one means or another - looked feckless as a writing/producing entity. And Disney will not reap what they’ve sown.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Mr B didn't seem to be vocal about this during filming. Guess he had to wait until the check cleared.

It’s personal/professional frustration that was highly predictable. Ten months after release of the end of the “biggest franchise ever”...there isn’t a peep about it. It is gone. No buzz...no product (empire strikes back 40th is about all you see...very Effective work, Disney )...not a whimper.

The was more buzz for a showing of Jedi on NBC in 1989.

Star Wars is on the back of baby yoda at this point....it’s ridiculous.

Ok...I’ll go to that therapy appointment now...

 

[Jedijax719]

Well John just ensured that he will never have a role in a single Disney IP ever again.

 

[Phroobar]

Well John just ensured that he will never have a role in a single Disney IP ever again.

Like any other of Boyega's movies were any good. I'm looking at you Pacific Rim Uprising. He has pretty much cemented himself as a c-list actor.

 

[Phroobar]

It’s personal/professional frustration that was highly predictable. Ten months after release of the end of the “biggest franchise ever”...there isn’t a peep about it. It is gone. No buzz...no product (empire strikes back 40th is about all you see...very Effective work, Disney )...not a whimper.

The was more buzz for a showing of Jedi on NBC in 1989.

Star Wars is on the back of baby yoda at this point....it’s ridiculous.

Ok...I’ll go to that therapy appointment now...

First Disney kills the Muppets and now Disney kills Star Wars. Atari was murdered a long time ago by others and Apple dominates the world.

There isn't much joy left in the world anymore.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

Part of his complaint is about the marketing.

They highlighted him in the initial trailers as a bit of a diversion from the reveal that Rey was the Jedi in waiting.

This was ultimately the story of Rey & Kylo, so it's not terribly surprising he wasn't used as much in the subsequent films. I'm sure it's frustrating, but as an actor, sometimes the size of your roll will change from episode to episode.

 

[Phroobar]

Part of his complaint is about the marketing.

They highlighted him in the initial trailers as a bit of a diversion from the reveal that Rey was the Jedi in waiting.

This was ultimately the story of Rey & Kylo, so it's not terribly surprising he wasn't used as much in the subsequent films. I'm sure it's frustrating, but as an actor, sometimes the size of your roll will change from episode to episode.

This is true. He is not that interesting as a side character. We've seen everything there is about him. He didn't grow beyond learning the FO are the bad guys and learn to fight them.

On the other hand, Poe was a great pilot and turned out to have a smuggler history. His character has a history that is interesting to explore in future shows or movies.

 

[Jedijax719]

Part of his complaint is about the marketing.

They highlighted him in the initial trailers as a bit of a diversion from the reveal that Rey was the Jedi in waiting.

This was ultimately the story of Rey & Kylo, so it's not terribly surprising he wasn't used as much in the subsequent films. I'm sure it's frustrating, but as an actor, sometimes the size of your roll will change from episode to episode.

Well it is true that they didn't utilize the character like they should have. He should have been instrumental in turning a legion of stormtroopers against the First Order. Imagine a speech where he convinces scores of troopers how they've been taken from their families. I imagined that was THE reason they were going to have red sith troopers in TROS-to differentiate between them and the other troopers who fought against them.

Missed opportunities. But I am not sure his complaints address that.

 

[Screamface]

For me the real victim of the ST was Mark Hamill. The way Luke was treated was terrible to both the actor and the fans. People were led to expect the return of Like Skywalker the hero and the films were marketed this way. The name of RoS even implied he might return (a possibility after Carrie Fisher passed).

Especially when you watch Mark Hamil discussing it. How he was brought on and sold on a version of Luke that they then completely changed. The story of him reading the script for The Last Jedi and disagreeing with every character choice. How it completely went against the original ending of TFA. Him calling up to ask about it. Those not so subtle tweets between him and Colin Treverrow about Lucasfilm deciding to go another way with the character.

It's a pretty bad way to treat an actor and their iconic role. Making him debase his legacy for money. At least he was allowed to publicly tell us about it.

Well it is true that they didn't utilize the character like they should have. He should have been instrumental in turning a legion of stormtroopers against the First Order. Imagine a speech where he convinces scores of troopers how they've been taken from their families.

That would have been something new. They didn't care about original characters or story.

I always thought it'd have been great if he tried to convince Storm Troopers and failed. Where we saw how brainwashed or even how much they genuinely believed in the cause of The First Order. It would have helped solve the humanising cannon fodder issue his character created.

Which is that Finn establishes the Storm Troopers are people too. Yet we're meant to not care when they're killed. Killed en mass. Especially when it's established they are victims of The First Order.

I would love to know if this was thought through by Kasdan and JJ. There are so many implications for Finn as a character which were subsequently ignored. As the editors of TFA said, "TLJ undid everything the film set up." So I don't doubt there was more set up and intended than we got.

Boyega's comments do align with the notion he was disappointed with where things went character-wise after the first film. You can contrast this with what we know of Hamill's experience of being blindsided when he read the script for TLJ.

JJ seemed to try and cram in a bunch of the original ideas for the trilogy he mapped out in ToS. Obviously having to adjust to things like the main villain being killed by the previous film. We do get Finn with former Storm Troopers fighting against pure evil Sith Cultist Troopers. There's just no time to develop any of it. So it's not inconceivable there was an original arc planned that'd lead to something similar.

Finn's friend dying is what caused his whole trip to the Resistance. Logically this would be set up for him wanting to save other people who had been victims like him. Why even have the Sith cultist fleet and troopers unless JJ was aware of the humanised Storm Trooper issue in The First Order? Why isn't it just The First Order as the main bad guys supporting Palpatine? Anyway...

 

[InnKpr]

Well John just ensured that he will never have a role in a single Disney IP ever again.

I dunno. Harrison Ford was pretty vocal with his disliking of "teddy bear picnic" and how George Lucas ended the OT. He even referred to his own iconic character in the saga as "silly" at times. Yet he was brought back for future movies and has remained friends with Lucas all these years.

Though George seems to have a much thicker skin than Disney has at times, so you may have a point with Boyega being finished with the company.

 

[erasure fan1]

I dunno. Harrison Ford was pretty vocal with his disliking of "teddy bear picnic" and how George Lucas ended the OT. He even referred to his own iconic character in the saga as "silly" at times. Yet he was brought back for future movies and has remained friends with Lucas all these years.

Though George seems to have a much thicker skin than Disney has at times, so you may have a point with Boyega being finished with the company.

Calling your character silly is a bit different than accusing Disney of pushing non white actors to the side. That is a pretty hard accusation in this day and age. So I would be surprised if Boyega is ever back as finn or in any other Disney film.

The funny thing is it wasn't just non whites. They paraded Gwendolyn around like she was the ultimate bad in the universe with some huge part in the film. So it seems it wasn't just non whites that got the short end of it. Phasmas part was significantly worse and underutilized than Finn. But hey, she had a cool outfit.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Well John just ensured that he will never have a role in a single Disney IP ever again.

He doesn’t care if Disney never hires him again. He’s made that very clear.

 

[InnKpr]

They paraded Gwendolyn around like she was the ultimate bad in the universe with some huge part in the film. So it seems it wasn't just non whites that got the short end of it. Phasmas part was significantly worse and underutilized than Finn. But hey, she had a cool outfit.

I thought of a way they could remedy many of these issues, both with Finn and Phasma's characters, and how they were ultimately pushed aside in the sequel trilogy:
A spin-off, standalone prequel film in the likes of Rogue One and Solo... FN-2187.

It tells the events of what happened from the time he was taken from his family as a young child by the First Order, and trained to be a fighter for the First Order, and ends within moments of boarding the ship for the assault on Jakku, as seen at the very beginning of TFA.

This could solve many problems within the pacing and character developments within the sequel trilogy, such as:

Allowing much more time to show FN's internal struggle with right & wrong.
At the beginning of TFA, it seemed so rushed how he transitioned from bad guy to wanting to help the Resistance. It didn't really flesh-out his emotions and make the transition meaningful (imo). It felt like: Ok, battle time...wait this is wrong...*poof* I'm good now!
With a spin-off prequel having FN as the main character focus, it could allow time to show his conflicts grow within, as he sees signs throughout his training & upbringing that this may not be a good team/family that he's part of, and their motives may not be so healthy.
The whole movie showing him have a constant struggle with wanting to do what is required of him by his First Order "family"... but deep down him having this feeling something is "off".
Perhaps even show a long, developed friendship with the stormtrooper who ultimately perished in front of FN at the beginning of TFA, and left that bloody handprint on his helmet. Show how years & years of past friendship led FN to ultimately snap and switch to good when he seems them die before his eyes.

Make Phasma the villain she needed to be.
Make Captain Phasma the main, numero uno antagonist in the spin-off. Plenty of screen time. Show her true ruthlessness as she trains the young stormtroopers. Make actions and encounters with her reasons why FN is seeing the true wickedness behind the First Order.
Of course, bring back Driver, Gleeson, and Serkis to reprise their roles in the spin-off... but only for *minor* cameos.
Make Gwendoline Christie shine in this one as a main villain with action that felt so lacking in the sequels.

I believe this could be a successful project, whether as a theatrical release or for Disney+.
Give Boyega the story his character deserved, lead up to the big character transition from evil to good we saw in TFA, give more insight into the First Order and its operations, and make Phasma a main big bad.

I'm on board with any of this. What do you all think?

 

[erasure fan1]

I thought of a way they could remedy many of these issues, both with Finn and Phasma's characters, and how they were ultimately pushed aside in the sequel trilogy:
A spin-off, standalone prequel film in the likes of Rogue One and Solo... FN-2187.

It tells the events of what happened from the time he was taken from his family as a young child by the First Order, and trained to be a fighter for the First Order, and ends within moments of boarding the ship for the assault on Jakku, as seen at the very beginning of TFA.

This could solve many problems within the pacing and character developments within the sequel trilogy, such as:

Allowing much more time to show FN's internal struggle with right & wrong.
At the beginning of TFA, it seemed so rushed how he transitioned from bad guy to wanting to help the Resistance. It didn't really flesh-out his emotions and make the transition meaningful (imo). It felt like: Ok, battle time...wait this is wrong...*poof* I'm good now!
With a spin-off prequel having FN as the main character focus, it could allow time to show his conflicts grow within, as he sees signs throughout his training & upbringing that this may not be a good team/family that he's part of, and their motives may not be so healthy.
The whole movie showing him have a constant struggle with wanting to do what is required of him by his First Order "family"... but deep down him having this feeling something is "off".
Perhaps even show a long, developed friendship with the stormtrooper who ultimately perished in front of FN at the beginning of TFA, and left that bloody handprint on his helmet. Show how years & years of past friendship led FN to ultimately snap and switch to good when he seems them die before his eyes.

Make Phasma the villain she needed to be.
Make Captain Phasma the main, numero uno antagonist in the spin-off. Plenty of screen time. Show her true ruthlessness as she trains the young stormtroopers. Make actions and encounters with her reasons why FN is seeing the true wickedness behind the First Order.
Of course, bring back Driver, Gleeson, and Serkis to reprise their roles in the spin-off... but only for *minor* cameos.
Make Gwendoline Christie shine in this one as a main villain with action that felt so lacking in the sequels.

I believe this could be a successful project, whether as a theatrical release or for Disney+.
Give Boyega the story his character deserved, lead up to the big character transition from evil to good we saw in TFA, give more insight into the First Order and its operations, and make Phasma a main big bad.

I'm on board with any of this. What do you all think?

I think they probably had ideas spinning around for a Finn D+ something. I also think Boyega wet the bed and ruined any chance of that happening. I'm not sure Disney would want him back ever at this point.

As for Phasma, I think a micro series with her starting with the first order, and following her as she moves her way up to captain, could be very cool. Especially if they actually deliver on her being a super bad a. Unfortunately I think this current band of clowns at Lucasfilm have jacked up the sequels to the point of its unlikely they will persue any of those threads. I think they will put all the focus on the new movies.

 

[DoleWhipDrea]

I feel for John Boyega and many of the other actors involved in the ST. No, Boyega doesn’t want to work with Disney again. Why would he? If your employer does you wrong, you can move on from them, and he’s moved on. Finn’s story was absolutely squandered. By TROS, he was either screaming Rey’s name over and over, or gleefully shooting down people that he used to work with while whooping. Seriously...what?!

People like to point fingers and say who specifically was responsible, but it’s a series of bad decisions with no one keeping a unified vision. Before you shoot big budget films like this, with plans for multiple movies, you have an outline. The ST clearly didn’t have an outline. I was going to say that Disney thought that they could do Star Wars films the way they do Marvel films, but they didn’t even do that. Marvel is charted out way in advance, and that’s a huge reason why the films have such a great payoff. With Star Wars, people were throwing balls to each other - from different rooms. And then others higher ups at Disney grabbed the ball and closed the door on their teammates, and accidentally broke the ball. So we all lost.

Seeing this mishandling on such an important franchise - something that truly means a lot to so many people - is infuriating.

 

[GimpYancIent]

I think they probably had ideas spinning around for a Finn D+ something. I also think Boyega wet the bed and ruined any chance of that happening. I'm not sure Disney would want him back ever at this point.

As for Phasma, I think a micro series with her starting with the first order, and following her as she moves her way up to captain, could be very cool. Especially if they actually deliver on her being a super bad a. Unfortunately I think this current band of clowns at Lucasfilm have jacked up the sequels to the point of its unlikely they will persue any of those threads. I think they will put all the focus on the new movies.

As a long term Star Wars fan I am disappointed with the last three installments, I enjoyed watching them, but the stories could have been better developed. In the first iteration of the last three the Finn character had a key purpose but in the next two films he was just a side kick. If Finn had not survived his encounter with Kylo Ren just before the death planet blew up he would have been a hero and referenced as a hero in the next productions. Oh well, the Finn character needs to have achieved his goal as a deserter and disappear to the far reaches of the outer rim. Mr. B needs to find projects elsewhere.
Now the Phasma spin off showing her induction, development and achievement getting to the rank of captain would make for an interesting Star Wars related story. Sort of a Rogue One but for the Empire, it has possibilities.

 

[champdisney]

He doesn’t care if Disney never hires him again. He’s made that very clear.

You’re right. John Boyega did make it clear that he doesn’t care. As he did when many Star Wars fans voiced their disdain for TLJ. What did he had to say about it? He went on Twitter and said “We don’t care.”

Do I think Disney used him? Yes. However, it wasn’t that long ago where he was flipping the birdy to the fans while kissing you know what to the company. After days of taking my time to analyze this situation, it’s clear that John Boyega is an egotistical opportunist.

Still doesn’t mean that Finn had to be such a garbage character in the last two films.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Mr B didn't seem to be vocal about this during filming. Guess he had to wait until the check cleared.

Or his NDA expired.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

This was ultimately the story of Rey & Kylo, so it's not terribly surprising he wasn't used as much in the subsequent films. I'm sure it's frustrating, but as an actor, sometimes the size of your roll will change from episode to episode.

Lucasfilm made a point of saying how their movies would be more inclusive, only to then sideline the sequel trilogy's token black character.

The diversity bait and switch marketing is worth calling out.