The John Boyega Star Wars relationship has never been simple. Over the past decade, the actor behind Finn has alternated between defending the franchise’s lore, blasting Lucasfilm for creative missteps, and calling out the fandom for what he sees as resistance to diversity.
John Boyega as Finn in Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens – Disney+
Now, in a new Variety interview and convention appearance, Boyega has revealed fresh details about his time in the sequel trilogy—details that reignite debates about what Finn’s story was supposed to be and how it ultimately played out.
Correcting Abrams on “They Fly Now”
In Variety’s piece, Boyega describes stepping in to make sure the galaxy far, far away stayed internally consistent—even when that meant contradicting dialogue in the script. He singled out a moment in The Rise of Skywalker when Poe Dameron shouts, “They fly now!” upon seeing First Order jet troopers.
John Boyega as Finn in Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens – Disney+
“I was the person on set correcting stuff,” Boyega said. “Like the flying jet troopers that we had in The Rise of Skywalker. Poe had been saying, ‘They fly now,’ and I thought they had seen the flying jet troopers from [animated TV series] The Clone Wars. I play the games on Battlefront. I have a robust relationship with the whole Star Wars stuff.”
Of course, despite Boyega’s lore accurate objection, Abrams was seemingly undeterred as the line made it into the final film.
J. J. Abrams speaking at the 2015 San Diego Comic Con International, for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”, at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California. Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Even so, this is an anecdote that paints Boyega as a genuine fan of the saga—a performer willing to push back on canon slips because he knows the material. For longtime fans frustrated with how the sequels handled continuity, hearing that a lead actor was fighting for accuracy offers a rare bit of reassurance.
Of course, Boyega and the fans don’t have that kind of warm fuzzy relationship, and that mostly comes from the actor’s own actions. More on that in a bit…
“I Thought They’d Obi-Wan and Darth Vader Us”
Boyega didn’t stop at behind-the-scenes lore notes. Speaking at Fan Expo Boston, he revealed that when he first read The Force Awakens script, he thought Finn was destined for a much larger role in the mythos—one that would put him on equal footing with Rey.
Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader and Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005), Lucasfilm
“I think I assumed he was Force-sensitive from The Force Awakens script… I thought they were planning dual Jedis,” Boyega told the crowd. “I actually thought that they would Obi-Wan and Darth Vader us a bit. That we would turn against each other or something along those lines.”
This wasn’t just idle speculation. The early marketing for The Force Awakens heavily featured Finn with a lightsaber, fueling fan theories that he would be a central Jedi figure. Boyega himself believed those hints were pointing toward a rivalry or tragic split, mirroring the classic prequel duel between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker.
Daisy Ridley as Rey in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019), Lucasfilm
But as the trilogy unfolded, Finn’s potential as a Force-sensitive hero was reduced to background nods and off-hand remarks. Those early promotional images proved to be another JJ Abrams “I’m so much smarter than the audience” bait-and-switch.
By the time The Rise of Skywalker rolled around, he was back in a supporting role, running and shouting rather than taking center stage in the Force-focused storyline .
From Defender of Lore to Critic of Fans
The juxtaposition between Boyega’s on-set canon corrections and his public attacks on the fanbase earlier this year is hard to ignore. In the Apple TV+ documentary Number One on the Call Sheet: Black Leading Men in Hollywood, Boyega leveled sharp criticism at the Star Wars fandom.
John Boyega as Finn in Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens – Disney+
“Star Wars always had the vibe of being in the most whitest, elite space,” Boyega said. “It’s a franchise that’s so white that a Black person existing in [it] was something.”
He went on to mock rebuttals that point to Lando Calrissian or Mace Windu as examples of diversity.
“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. They just scattered that in there, bro!”
Kelly Marie Tran as Rose Tico kisses Finn, played by John Boyega in Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi – Disney+
“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!’”
These comments, which That Park Place covered extensively in the spring, sparked a backlash among fans who saw them as painting the entire community with too broad a brush. For many, Boyega seemed to have shifted from critiquing Lucasfilm’s creative direction to attacking the very audience that embraced him—at least initially.
Past Criticism of Lucasfilm
Of course, this isn’t the first time Boyega has gone public with grievances about Star Wars. In a 2020 interview with GQ, he called out Disney and Lucasfilm for sidelining Finn after promoting him as a central figure.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MAY 23: Kathleen Kennedy, President, Lucasfilm attends the launch event for Lucasfilm’s new Star Wars series The Acolyte at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California on May 23, 2024. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)
“What 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,” Boyega said at the time. “It’s not good. I’ll say it straight up.”
That tension—between defending the franchise’s lore, slamming the studio for narrative sidelining, and accusing fans of bias—has defined Boyega’s post-sequel trilogy commentary.
The Yo-Yo Dynamic
When you put all of Boyega’s public statements side by side, a yo-yo pattern emerges. In one moment, he’s the insider fighting for canon accuracy, speaking the language of longtime fans who value Star Wars history. In another, he’s the critic accusing portions of that same fandom of being unwelcoming to Black leads.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MAY 23: (L-R) Leslye Headland, Dave Filoni, Chief Creative Officer, Lucasfilm and Kathleen Kennedy, President, Lucasfilm attend the launch event for Lucasfilm’s new Star Wars series The Acolyte at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California on May 23, 2024. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)
It’s a complicated dance. On the one hand, the Abrams correction story positions Boyega as a kind of lore ambassador, someone who “gets it” in a way that reassures disillusioned sequel trilogy skeptics. On the other, his documentary remarks remind those same fans that he sees major flaws in the culture surrounding Star Wars.
What It Means for Lucasfilm—and Boyega
For Lucasfilm, Boyega’s comments are another reminder of the lingering dissatisfaction around the sequel trilogy’s character arcs. Finn was marketed as a lead, teased as a possible Jedi, and then parked in the background while Rey’s story dominated. That decision alienated not just a vocal portion of the fanbase, but also the actor himself—something Boyega has never been shy about pointing out .
Daisy Ridley as Rey in The Last Jedi (2017), Lucasfilm
Whether his recent turn toward discussing lore accuracy signals an effort to rebuild bridges with fans—or perhaps reopen dialogue with Lucasfilm—is anyone’s guess. But it’s clear Boyega is still deeply engaged with Star Wars, both as an actor and as a consumer of its expanded universe.
A Relationship Still in Flux
John Boyega’s latest round of Star Wars commentary isn’t just about one anecdote or one disappointment. It’s a mosaic of behind-the-scenes loyalty to canon, dashed hopes for a more ambitious character arc, and a willingness to call out both the studio and the fans.
Daisy Ridley as Rey in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019), Lucasfilm
The result is a relationship with Star Wars that remains as complicated as the sequels themselves—a blend of frustration and unfinished business. Whether Boyega ever returns to the galaxy far, far away is unknown, but his words ensure the conversation about Finn’s potential, and the choices that erased it, isn’t going away any time soon.
Do you think we’ll ever see John Boyega in Star Wars again? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
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He would have had more allies and sympathy if he hadn’t attacked the very people he needs support from if he wants to redress his issues.
Until he recognizes he wouldn’t be in the privileged position he’s in, where he has a platform to attack the very people who enabled that platform, I have no use for him.