John Boyega is ‘comfortable’ handling black ‘Star Wars’ characters

John Boyega has always been open about how his role in the “Star Wars” sequel trilogy was a complicated experience for him. On the one hand, the franchise raised him to international stardom and opened the way for him to take on more interesting projects. But he also made it clear that being one of the first major black actors in such a beloved series had its downsides.

The actor has often spoken about what he sees as Disney’s lack of support when dealing with racist harassment from fans, as well as his general displeasure that his character has a smaller role than the films’ marketing materials often suggest.

“It’s so hard to maneuver,” Boyega said in 2020. “You get involved in projects and you’re not necessarily going to like everything. (But) I would say to Disney, don’t bring out a black character, market them to be more important to the franchise than they are, and then put them aside. This is not good. I’ll tell you straight.”

Now that the trilogy is firmly behind him and a burgeoning film career that sees him no longer tied to the franchise, Boyega seems to be looking more into the experience. In a new interview with him The timesBoyega explained how he made peace with the franchise.

“To me, Star Wars made you human in a way,” he said. “The experiences, the fun times, the good times, the ugly times, the bad times make you who you are as you navigate the industry, and it’s definitely been interesting.”

He also explained that many of his narrative grievances regarding his character’s relevance to the story were remedied by the conclusion of JJ Abrams’ “The Rise of Skywalker” trilogy. He added that his satisfaction with the story’s ending made him more comfortable enjoying Disney’s subsequent “Star Wars” projects as a fan.

“I feel like the arc that JJ was trying to tie, and I feel comfortable here when he starts to break free,” Boyega said of his character. “And since then, I’ve been able to enjoy ‘The Mandalorian’ and ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ as a fan.” I enjoy the balance of all things.”

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