The intent of Black Star Wars is to celebrate the accomplishments and achievements of black artists within the realm of Star Wars. As we aren’t in the financial position to contribute yet, we are doing our part to celebrate and amplify black voices.

John Boyega is a British actor and producer. Boyega’s career started back in 2011 when he played Moses in the sci-fi comedy Attack the Block. He has taken on many different roles throughout his career. He has done work for TV series, film, and voice acting.  He is best known for his role in the Star Wars Universe as Finn. Finn is first seen in Episode VII: The Force Awakens. The film was released on December 18, 2015. Both the film and Boyega’s performance received acclaim from both audiences and critics. 

Star Wars Character

Finn or FN-2187 is a former First Order stormtrooper. Finn was raised from birth to be loyal to the First Order. As soon as he had his first taste of real combat in the Resistance-First Order war he decided to defect. At first, Finn did not want to choose aside. He just wanted out of the war. Ultimately, he joined the Resistance. Finn played a pivotal role in defeating the First Order and bringing peace to the galaxy. 

In 2018, Boyega revealed on Good Morning America that during filming he left his The Rise of Skywalker script in a hotel room. The script was found and posted on eBay. The Rise of Skywalker is the final film in the Skywalker saga. Disney and Lucasfilm have always been very tight-lipped about upcoming Star Wars films and a leak like this would have been devastating. Luckily a Lucasfilm employee was able to act quickly and buy the script to stop it from being leaked. 

Career Outside of Star Wars

John Boyega has been acting since 2011. He has made appearances in various movies and TV shows over the span of his career. Some of his more notable roles were on the mini-series 24: Live Another Day, Saturday Night Live, and the TV series Tinkershrimp and Dutch. 

Boyega has also done voice work on the animated BBC mini-series Watership Down and the animated TV series Major Lazer. He has made appearances on popular TV shows in the United Kingdom such as Law and Order: UK and Becoming Human. John Boyega also has a couple of producer credits to his name. He co-produced the 2018 film Pacific Rim: Uprising and will executive produce the UK horror film A Spriggan, which is currently in pre-production.

Legacy

Last week Boyega gave an empowering speech at the Black Lives Matter protest in London’s Hyde Park. He spoke from the heart and pleaded with the crowd to understand that they were important and that their lives matter. He encouraged Black men to take care of Black women. He reminded protesters that they need to be peaceful and organized.

He even said he may not have a career after this but he didn’t care. This cause is important to him. Later on, the official Star Wars Twitter account tweeted “We stand with and support you, @JohnBoyega.” and Mark Hamill, who plays Luke Skywalker tweeted “Never been more proud of you, John,” signing his message with “(love), dad.” During his speech, he teared up several times which showed just how passionate he is about stopping the injustices that happen to Black people worldwide every day.

At Edge of the Galaxy, we fully support the #BlackLivesMatter campaign. If you are able, please donate to the cause. For more information, visit BlackLivesMatter.com today.