As much as the Star Wars franchise is loved by scores of fans around the world, John Boyega is, respectfully, over it.
The actor, who played Finn for three films in the Star Wars series, posted a photo on Instagram in which he's posing on the set of Small Axe, Steve McQueen's new TV series for the BBC and Amazon. One commenter said they were looking forward to seeing Boyega reprise his Star Wars role, writing, "Force Finn in action with Green lightsaber dressed in black is all I want from the next SW film!
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The actor replied with a heart emoji, saying “lol no thank you. I’ve moved on."
In response, another fan joked that Boyega “really just got those Disney bucks and dipped," but Boyega was quick to clarify. “nope," Boyega wrote. "Not into playing one role for too long. I have more to offer than that. That’s all."
Boyega's clarity and finality shouldn't come as much of a surprise — he is known for speaking his mind, whether about his abhorrence of racism and support of Black Lives Matter, or his role in a blockbuster franchise. The actor went viral earlier this year for voicing his criticism of the Star Wars franchise, noting that the writing and storyline for his character became somewhat lackluster as the films went on. Co-star Oscar Isaac also felt that Disney missed an opportunity to explore a rare queer romantic relationship between his character, Poe, and that of Boyega's.
But it's in part Boyega's activism and candidness itself that is now bolstering his career. After a rousing and emotional speech at a Black Lives Matter protest in London in which Boyega said "I’m speaking to you from my heart, I don’t know if I’m going to have a career after this, but fuck that," Matthew A. Cherry (Hair Love), Charlton Brooker (Black Mirror), Tracy Y. Oliver (Girls Trip), and more Black creatives took to social media to support Boyega and assure him that he will continue to have a fruitful career long after Star Wars. It looks like that fruitful journey is starting now.