John Boyega Expresses His Frustrations Regarding Toxic 'Star Wars' Fans

John Boyega, the actor who played the role of reformed stormtrooper Finn in every entry of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, has called out some toxic Star Wars fans on Twitter, saying he does not “f***” with them anymore. On Friday night, August 21, he tweeted about what he was finding to be bothersome:

"Toxic Star Wars fans still find their way to my mentions. Lord. Must I blunt? I don’t “f***” with you no more."

Unsurprisingly, this led to a lot of responses. A little while later, Boyega sent out another tweet about the matter:

"Lord waited so long to tell the toxic fans to fack off.”

However, it was not quite clear how the fans were being toxic to John Boyega, and which fans in particular he was addressing, as far as what their specific criticisms were. One person commented the following:

“Those Star Wars fans that you find toxic to your series of Star Wars were actually rooting for you, my friend. We knew that you were a better actor for which you used, and that you character’s potential was vastly lost. Don’t be so quick to judge. Favourable journeys forward.”

It seems that this person felt that Boyega's talents were not used to the fullest in the sequel trilogy. Though this individual may believe that Finn as a character was under-utilized and not used to his full potential, their response was very civil and supportive.

About last month, amid calls for John Boyega to reprise the role of Finn in future Star Wars projects, Boyega said that he has “moved on” from the Star Wars franchise. Furthermore, on Instagram, Boyega posted a picture of himself while he was on set with the caption “back on set!” This drew the following comment from another Instagram user:

“Force Finn in action with green lightsaber dressed in black is all I want from the next SW films.”

This request sounds very reminiscent of how Luke Skywalker was presented in Return of the Jedi. This iteration of Luke is quite popular with the fans, to the point where some were sharing the hashtag #IgniteTheGreen in the lead up to the release of 2017's The Last Jedi. Finn wielded a blue lightsaber in The Force Awakens, something that was revealed in the marketing as the 2015 film's release grew closer. The films ended up being more about Rey's journey, at least as far as the Jedi thread was concerned. However, it is understandable that some would want to see Finn take the path that Luke took as well in the original trilogy. Despite this particular request, Boyega was not married to the idea:

“lol no thank you. I’ve moved on.”

Reacting to a comment by another fan, Boyega clarified that he is not keen on the idea of having the same role for too long. He believes that he can do more than that. To be fair, Boyega is more than just Finn. After all, he has starred in other films such as Attack the Block and Pacific Rim: Uprising.

Earlier this year, John Boyega described Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker as “very fulfilling,” but added that he has “some disappointments." Underwhelming reactions to the film came from critics and fans. Given how some fans, both reasonable and unreasonable, have had harsh criticisms about the newer films, it is understandable that Boyega would want to separate himself from Star Wars at this time. While he may have closed the door on playing Finn (at least for now), Star Wars has had a history of further exploring the films' characters via other media. So perhaps we may see more of Finn's future post-The Rise of Skywalker (apart from the upcoming The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special) someday.

Written By Pat Kusnadi

Syndicated from Culture Slate