John Boyega Changes Tune on Star Wars Return

Star Wars actor John Boyega, who portrayed Finn in the sequel trilogy, apparently changed his outlook on a potential return to the franchise.

As the three films in Star Wars’ sequel trilogy were being released, actor John Boyega was the unfortunate target of some fans which led to him receiving unnecessary hate, verbal abuse, and even threats.

These actions were racially motivated by the so-called “fans,” and that experience, along with the underrepresentation of Boyega and other non-white actors on-screen during the films ultimately led to Boyega expressing no interest in returning to the franchise.

John Boyega is Now Open to a Star Wars Return

In a recent interview with Tech Radar, Star Wars actor John Boyega expressed that he would ultimately make a return to the Star Wars universe sometime in the future under the right conditions.

The actor came right out and said he would be “open” to reprising his role as Finn, especially if the “characters and scripts” are “enjoyable.” 

The actor even mentioned his past comments about what he had to deal with both on and off the sequel trilogy sets and claimed that they are now in the past:

“That [those comments] was a few years ago, so they were the subject of that particular project. But I’m open to all characters and scripts that are enjoyable, have a great cast attached, and a terrific director. So yeah, I’m open to all opportunities.”

It seems as though Boyega has changed his mind regarding the franchise, and specifically coming back to reprise his role.

The last time the actor made a statement on the topic was in August 2022, when he stated that “Finn is at a good confirmation point” in regard to the films, and that the sequel trilogy was enough for him.

There were also other instances where Boyega straight-up said that he would not be returning to the franchise.

The comments that Boyega referred to in his most recent interview are from past sit-downs and instances where the actor opened up about his unfortunate negative experiences working on the sequel trilogy.

In a September 2020 interview, Boyega specifically talked about being racially attacked by some members of the Star Wars fanbase.

The actor even admitted to receiving “death threats” due to his race, and how many people publicly said that they would “boycott the movie” due to Boyega’s involvement:

“Nobody else in the cast had people saying they were going to boycott the movie because [they were in it]. Nobody else had the uproar and death threats sent to their Instagram DMs and social media, saying, ‘Black this and black that and you shouldn’t be a Stormtrooper.’ Nobody else had that experience. But yet people are surprised that I’m this way. That’s my frustration.”

In the same interview, Boyega also referenced how his character in the sequel trilogy was sidelined after being such an important character in The Force Awakens:

“I’m the only cast member who had their own unique experience of that franchise based on their race. Let’s just leave it like that. It makes you angry with a process like that. It makes you much more militant; it changes you. Because you realize, ‘I got given this opportunity but I’m in an industry that wasn’t even ready for me.’”

What Project Could John Boyega Return In?

There are plenty of upcoming Star Wars projects on the horizon, but none have the potential to include Finn as much as the Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy-directed film that will star Daisy Ridley.

Boyega and Ridley obviously shared the screen quite a bit in the sequel trilogy, their characters formed a close relationship across the three movies, so that seems like the most likely place for Boyega to make his comeback.

Some rumors claimed that Boyega is already set to return and that it just hasn’t been announced by Lucasfilm yet, and based on Boyega’s latest comments, that could be true.

The film in discussion will take place 15 years after The Rise of Skywalker, and seeing as how Finn and Rey both made it through to the end of that film on good terms, it would make sense for the two characters to still be in contact.