John Boyega thought his Star Wars trilogy was going to have "dual Jedis"

Unfortunately, that’s not how it went—Rey’s arc was tied up mostly with Kyo Ren (Adam Driver), while Finn’s role was more and more diminished over the next two films. John Boyega had to deal not only with intense vitriol from racist fans outside the franchise, but also feeling devalued within it. In the past, he’s spoken about how the experience changed his perspective on the industry. “[W]hat 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. I’ll say it straight up,” he said in 2020. 

Boyega touched on the racism within the Star Wars fandom again earlier this year when interviewed for the documentary Number One On The Call Sheet: Black Leading Men In Hollywood (via Entertainment Weekly). “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!'” he said. “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!'” Nevertheless, he still ranks The Force Awakens as his favorite of the Star Wars movies he made—presumably as much for the potential that first film held for the character as it did for him as an actor. “The Force Awakens to me was a fundamental moment,” he said in the documentary. “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.”