Boyega has frequently discussed how he felt about Finn’s role in the sequel trilogy being unsupported and sidelined in the face of culture-war commentary about the presence of a Black primary character in The Force Awakens, but his latest commentary is especially pointed in the wake of the cancellation of The Acolyte, a Star Wars series lead by a significant non-white cast, including Amandla Stenberg’s dual leading role as the twins Osha and Mae Aniseya. The Acolyte was the latest in a long line of Star Wars projects that found itself the target of bad faith and harassment over its diverse cast prior to, and even after, its untimely cancellation last year, but also the latest in a long line where Lucasfilm and Disney, in the wake of the bigoted harassment that actors like Boyega and Kelly Marie Tran faced during the sequel trilogy, failed to step up and defend up its targeted stars. For as many strides that the studio has made in moving to defend minority talent—moves Boyega himself has praised in the past, like the studio’s open support for Moses Ingram after the Obi-Wan Kenobi actress faced racist abuse for her performance as the Imperial Inquisitor Reva—it’s clear there’s still plenty of ways to go to both elevate more diverse leading roles in Star Wars‘ future… and ways for Lucasfilm and Disney to defend those potential stars from being sidelined.
Author: James Whitbrook
Published at: 2025-03-31 22:00:02
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