John Boyega has admitted that he thinks The Last Jedi is the worst Star Wars sequel, although he did say it 'in the most respectful way'. Here he is justifying the decision.
The 31-year-old actor was given the choice to provide some potentially scandalous information or get a dose of extreme heat on Hot Ones spin-off Truth or Dab - and decided that he’d rather drop some knowledge on everyone else rather than some hot sauce on his tongue.
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It’s worth pointing out that this episode was filmed before the SAG-AFTRA union strike was announced, by the way.
Just in case anyone is accusing him of crossing the picket.
Anyway, Boyega starred in the super-successful space saga as Finn, but was asked on the popular YouTube show to rank his three appearances from best to worst, and – after a wee pause to consider how much trouble he might get – he said: “Hell yeah! I’ll do it!”
Luckily, it seems as if he’s pretty confident in his opinion.
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“Star Wars: The Force Awakens is most definitely the best,” he said.
Then, second up is The Rise of Skywalker, before he reluctantly added: “And then the worst—in the most respectful sense—is Episode VIII.
“But they’re all lovely.”
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That last statement was delivered with the kind of side-eye that will have Star Wars fans wondering exactly what he meant.
Just interpret it your own way, guys.
Whilst Boyega is clearly just having a bit of fun, perhaps there’s a bit of truth to what he’s saying here.
He’s had a little bit of a go at the franchise – and Disney – in the past, notably saying to GQ in 2020: “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.
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“It’s not good. I’ll say it straight up.”
He continued: “You guys knew what to do with [co-stars] Daisy Ridley, you knew what to do with Adam Driver.
“But when it came to Kelly Marie Tran, when it came to John Boyega, you know f*** all.
“So what do you want me to say?
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“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.”
He then later backed those comments up, telling Esquire: “I’m surprised actors before hadn’t said anything.
“Cause that’s what creates the whole taboo of it all.
“I’m just glad now that the conversations are being had on a mass level, so it doesn’t feel like one actor is a rebel against the system.”
“Once you make certain statements, everybody knows where you stand, so people don’t approach you trying to play the game,
“Since then, I’ve worked with Netflix, I’ve worked with Sony and other studios, and they’re very much aware of how I am, how I operate, and they found that they can still do their job.
“When you’re the one actor saying it, it becomes like, ‘Oh my God.’ But I’m glad now.”
Still, despite openly criticising some elements, Boyega also remains a ‘massive’ Star Wars fan.
He went on: “I still am in love with it. I bloody love it.
“But it’s almost nicer not having to be in it, and not having to deal with that.
“It’s weird, you just go back to being a fan again and see yourself in the games.”
Topics: Star Wars, Celebrity, Film and TV
Tom Wood