John Boyega slams Star Wars as the ‘whitest, elite space’ while reflecting on racist backlash

John Boyega slammed the Star Wars franchise and its fans while reflecting on the racist backlash he received after being cast in the iconic saga. 

The British actor, 33, said the franchise is ‘so White that it’s like, a Black person existing in [it] was something,’ while appearing in the new two-part AppleTV+ documentary, Number One on the Call Sheet.

‘Star Wars always had the vibe of being in the most whitest, elite space,’ the actor — who previously claimed his role was ‘sidelined’ for white co-stars Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver — said, as he criticized fans who can’t accept diverse casting.

‘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!”‘ he added.

Boyega played the franchise’s first black ex-stormtrooper, Finn, in The Force Awakens (2015) and its two sequels, The Last Jedi (2017) and The Rise of Skywalker (2019). 

He also pointed out how fans tend to make a big deal out of the few Black characters in the franchise.

John Boyega, 33, slammed the Star Wars franchise and its fans while reflecting on the racist backlash he received after being cast in the iconic saga; pictured March 12 in Hollywood

Boyega played ex-stormtrooper Finn in The Force Awakens (2015) and its two sequels, The Last Jedi (2017) and The Rise of Skywalker (2019); seen in a still from The Force Awakens

‘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. It’s like, they just scattered that in there, bro!’

Despite his issues with the franchise, Boyega admitted that his first Star Wars film was ‘a fundamental moment’ in his career, and called it the ‘opportunity of a lifetime.’

‘We waited months for that. When that big call came in, that’s that call that all those stars talk about that changed their life and stuff. It’s like, “That’s it? That’s the call!” It’s such an attack on reality.’

Boyega previously criticized the franchise for significantly reducing his character’s importance from a co-lead in The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi to a smaller role in The Rise of Skywalker. 

‘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. It’s not good,’ he said in a 2020 interview with British GQ. 

At the time he claimed that the trilogy gave ‘all the nuance’ to main characters Rey (played by Ridley) and the villainous Kylo Ren (played by Driver.) 

Discussing his experience of being a black cast member in the films, the actor suggested his white co-stars Driver and Ridley were given more complex characters in comparison to himself or Kelly Marie Tran, who is of Vietnamese descent. 

He said: ‘Like, you guys knew what to do with Daisy Ridley, you knew what to do with Adam Driver.’ 

He said the franchise is ‘so White that it’s like, a Black person existing in [it] was something,’ while appearing in the new two-part AppleTV+ documentary, Number One on the Call Sheet

‘Star Wars always had the vibe of being in the most whitest, elite space,’ the actor said, as he criticized fans who can’t accept diverse casting; seen in a still with Daisy Ridley 

‘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!”‘ he added; pictured in a still with Kelly Marie Tran

He previously claimed his role was ‘sidelined’ for white co-stars Daisy and Adam Driver, whose characters Rey and Kylo Ren were given ‘all the nuance’; Driver, Ridley and Mark Hamill seen in a promotional photo for The Last Jedi

‘You knew what to do with these other people, but when it came to Kelly Marie Tran, when it came to John Boyega, you know f**k all.’ 

‘So what do you want me to say? What they want you to say is, “I enjoyed being a part of it. It was a great experience…” Nah, nah, nah. I’ll take that deal when it’s a great experience.’ 

‘They gave all the nuance to Adam Driver, all the nuance to Daisy Ridley. Let’s be honest. Daisy knows this. Adam knows this. Everybody knows. I’m not exposing anything.’

At the time, the Peckham-born star also discussed his experiences with racism after he was cast in Star Wars, explaining how he was the only member of the cast who had people saying they were going to ‘boycott’ the franchise because he was in it.

He said: ‘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.”

‘Nobody else in the cast had people saying they were going to boycott the movie because [they were in it].’

‘You guys knew what to do with Daisy Ridley, you knew what to do with Adam Driver. You knew what to do with these other people, but when it came to Kelly Marie Tran, when it came to John Boyega, you know f**k all,’ he said in a 2020 interview with British GQ; seen with Ridley

‘Let’s be honest. Daisy knows this. Adam knows this. Everybody knows. I’m not exposing anything,’ he said; (L-R) Tran, Driver, Hamill, Ridley, and Boyega seen in 2017

‘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.’

Despite his frustrations, in a 2020 interview with Jakes’s Takes, Boyega seemingly signaled that he would be open to returning for more films under some conditions.

‘I’m open to the conversation as long as it is [Kathleen Kennedy], J.J. [Abrams] and maybe someone else [on their] team. [Then] it’s a no-brainer,’ he said.

Boyega currently has a few projects in pre-production, including Otis & Zelma and Attack the Block 2.

His most recent role includes the 2023 film, They Cloned Tyrone, where he played Fontaine, and the 2022 historical epic The Woman King, where he starred as King Ghezo.