John Boyega Reflects on Star Wars Fandom’s Problem With Black Heroes

Ever since he called time on the galaxy far, far away, John Boyega has been frank in discussing the ways he was both frustrated by, and pushed back against, the racism he experienced in being cast as one of Star Wars‘ latest generation of heroes, and the struggles he faced in Finn’s journey across the sequel trilogy. But as part of an interview for a new Apple TV+ documentary about Black men in Hollywood, the actor further opened up on the franchise’s predominance of white heroes. “Star Wars always had the vibe of being in the most whitest, elite space. It’s a franchise that’s so white that a Black person existing in [it] was something,” Boyega said in part during an interview for Number One on the Call Sheet: Black Leading Men in Hollywood, now streaming on Apple TV+, via Variety), before further discussing the ways Star Wars fans defend a lack of prominent characters from non-white backgrounds. “You can always tell it’s something when some Star Wars fans try to say, ‘Well, we had L ... Read full article.