Boyega looks beyond Star Wars franchise


By Content Nigeria reporter
July 23, 2020

News
John Boyega as Finn in Star Wars

Bafta-winning British-Nigerian actor John Boyega has revealed that he has no intention of returning to the character he has portrayed in three recent Star Wars movies.

The 28-year-old London-based star played Finn in the Star Wars trilogy comprising The Force Awakens (2015), The Last Jedi (2017) and The Rise of Skywalker (2019).

However, responding to fans on Instagram asking if he would step into Finn’s shoes again, Boyega wrote: “Lol no thank you. I’ve moved on. Nope. Not into playing one role for too long. I have more to offer than that. That’s all. Isn’t that what people do when a role is done? Or… it’s not that deep.”

Boyega, who is now set to play a role in Netflix’s upcoming live-action series Avatar: The Last Airbender, also spoke on Twitter about expanding that  franchise into Africa, writing: “When you lot are ready to have the benders in Africa explored let me know!”

Meanwhile, British actor and producer Idris Elba (The Wire, Luther) has tipped Boyega to become the next James Bond. He said: “The way spies are being viewed right now, I think they could afford to be younger and a bit more current. If they’re going to go with someone of colour, John would be the man.”

As well as the Stars Wars trilogy, Boyega has appeared in sci-fi comedy film Attack the Block (2011), drama film Imperial Dreams (2014), historical drama Detroit (2017), sci-fi movie Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018) and four episodes of TV series 24: Live Another Day.

Boyega’s production outfit, UpperRoom, recently teamed up with Netflix to develop non-English-language films drawn from Africa, as reported by Content Nigeria. He is also set to star in BBC/Amazon drama Small Axe (6×60’), from Oscar-winning director Steve McQueen.

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