John Boyega has gone to bat for J.J. Abrams regarding The Rise of Skywalker. The finale to the Skywalker saga was met with a mixed response and, for better or for worse, concluded Disney’s sequel trilogy. Abrams returned to the helm after first directing The Force Awakens, but that wasn’t the original plan. Now Boyega has said to leave Abrams alone about it.
If you can’t read the full article pls pls let your top lip and bottom lip become one. ❤️
— John Boyega (@JohnBoyega) September 2, 2020
The 28-year-old actor, who plays Finn in the franchise, was recently the subject of an in-depth profile piece. Much of it deals with his struggles when it comes to a lack of representation and diversity in the industry as a whole. It is much bigger than Star Wars. But Star Wars does indeed come up. At one point, John Boyega spoke about J.J. Abrams in no uncertain terms. Here’s what he had to say about it.
“Everybody needs to leave my boy alone. He wasn’t even supposed to come back and try to save your s***.”
These comments aren’t even about Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker as a movie so much as they are about the filmmaker behind it and the situation he stepped into. Originally, J.J. Abrams stepped away and handed the baton to Rian Johnson, who directed The Last Jedi. John Boyega has been critical of elements of the sequel in the past. Colin Trevorrow was then brought in to helm Episode IX, only to part ways with Lucasfilm over creative differences. His version of the movie was markedly different, we would later discover. After that, Lucasfilm went back to Abrams, who had the unenviable task of trying to follow a divisive movie, conclude an entire saga and do what seemingly Trevorrow couldn’t.
We can argue over the end result all day but it’s clear that John Boyega does not believe any ill-feelings should be directed Abrams’ way. In the interview, Boyega also described his part in the Star Wars saga as an “amazing opportunity” and a “stepping stone,” despite some negative comments about Disney’s treatment of Finn and other characters, such as Rose and Poe. Taking to Twitter after the fact, Boyega also encouraged people to read the full article or “let your top lip and bottom lip become one.” In another follow-up, Boyega had this to add.
“These conversations and me sharing isn’t about a witch hunt. It’s about clarity to an anger that can be seen as selfish, disruptive and self indulgent. Obviously in hopes of better change. Bruh. In short. I said what I said. Love to you all seriously. Your support is amazing !”
Next up for John Boyega is an episode of the miniseries Small Axe from Oscar-winner Steve McQueen. Boyega is also set to star in a new mystery/thriller for Netflix titled They Cloned Tyrone. Meanwhile, J.J. Abrams is busy as a producer working on, among many other things, a Justice League Dark TV series for HBO Max. You can check out the full interview over at GQ.
