John Boyega Says He’s ‘Open’ to Returning to the ‘Star Wars’ Franchise — Under These Conditions

John Boyega has previously been candid about his frustrations with his character Finn’s evolution in the latest Star Wars trilogy

John Boyega is not entirely closed off to returning to a galaxy far, far away.

The Golden Globe-winning actor has previously expressed frustrations about his role as Finn in the Star Wars sequel trilogy films, and even said last year that he had “moved on” from the role.

But in a resurfaced clip from a 2020 interview with Jakes’s Takes, Boyega, 29, indicated he would be open to returning for more films under certain behind-the-scenes conditions.

“I’m open to the conversation as long as it is [Kathleen Kennedy], J.J. [Abrams] and maybe someone else [on their] team. [Then] it’s a no-brainer,” he said.

A rep for Boyega did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Boyega joined the Star Wars universe as Finn in 2015’s The Force Awakens, produced by Abrams (who also directed), 54, and Kennedy, 67. He reprised the role in 2017’s The Last Jedi and 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker.

In July of last year, Boyega shut down the possibility he’d play Finn again while interacting with a fan on Instagram.

“Force Finn in action with Green lightsaber dressed in black is all I want from the next SW film!” an Instagram user wrote under one of the actor’s posts at the time, to which Boyega responded, “Lol no thank you. I’ve moved on” with a heart emoji.

When another fan joked that Boyega “really just got those Disney bucks and dipped” with a crying-laughing emoji, the actor set the record straight on why he wouldn’t return.

“Nope. Not into playing one role for too long. I have more to offer than that. That’s all,” he wrote.
Then, in September 2020, Boyega criticized Disney, the studio behind the franchise, for his character Finn’s arc in the series during an interview with British GQ.

“It’s so difficult to maneuver,” Boyega said of how he reflects on his time making Star Wars. “You get yourself involved in projects and you’re not necessarily going to like everything. [But] 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. It’s not good. I’ll say it straight up.”

Boyega told the publication that while he felt that Daisy Ridley’s Rey and Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren got proper sendoffs in the final film, Disney dropped the ball on his character and Kelly Marie Tran’s Rose Tico, the first major Asian character in the franchise.

“You knew what to do with these other people, but when it came to Kelly Marie Tran, when it came to John Boyega, you know f— all,” said Boyega. “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.”