John Boyega: Last News

Zack Sharf Digital News Director John Boyega called out “Star Wars” for being “so white” during an interview as part of the new Apple TV+ original documentary “Number One on the Call Sheet: Black Leading Men in Hollywood” (via Entertainment Weekly). Boyega debuted as Finn in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and reprised the character in “The Last Jedi” and “The Rise of Skywalker.” His role in the sequel trilogy led to online harassment from racist and toxic “Star Wars” fans upset with a Black actor playing a lead hero in the space franchise. “Lemme tell ya, ‘Star Wars’ always had the vibe of being in the most whitest, elite space.

John Boyega asked JJ Abrams for some growth for his Star Wars character Finn, who was “doing a lot of falling.”Boyega starred in three Star Wars outings, films The Force Awakens (2015), The Last Jedi (2017), and The Rise of Skywalker (2019) – with the first and last of the sequel trilogy being directed by Abrams.When Abrams returned to direct The Rise of Skywalker, Boyega had one request – Finn needed more character growth. Speaking on his panel at Emerald City Comic Con earlier this month, he said: “I was doing a lot of falling in Star Wars. I was always falling.

Frank Ocean has found its star in Industry actor David Jonsson.The film, which is currently untitled, has begun shooting in Mexico City, according to a report from Variety. The plot is currently under wraps.Jonsson is best known for his role in TV drama Industry, which aired from 2020-2022 and followed a group of young graduates competing for permanent positions at an investment bank in London.

Alex Ritman The British Academy has unveiled the nominees for its 2025 Rising Star award for up-and-coming onscreen talent, the only honor among the BAFTA film awards to be voted on by the public. Announced more than a week before the full lineup of BAFTA nominations is revealed on Jan.

The stars are hitting the red carpet in Saudi Arabia!

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Tunisia’s “Red Path,” directed by Lotfi Achour, was awarded the Golden Yusr for best feature film Thursday at the Red Sea Film Festival awards ceremony, where honorary awards were bestowed on Viola Davis and Priyanka Chopra Jonas. Sarah Jessica Parker, Dev Patel, John Boyega and Nick Jonas were among the star guests. Johnny Depp’s “Modi, Three Days on the Wing of Madness” screened as the festival’s final gala screening, with Depp attending with star Riccardo Scamarcio.

Alex Ritman Since bursting on the scene in 1998 as a scruffier and scrappier distant cousin to the BAFTAs, the British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs) have been an early bellwether for future talent in front of and behind the camera. Giving a very early shout out to some of the biggest stars working today is the BIFAs breakthrough performance award (formerly the most promising newcomer award). Jamie Bell and Ben Whishaw were recipients more than 20 years ago, while other winners have included Dev Patel, Naomi Ackie and Jessie Buckley.

Angelique Jackson “The Marvels” and “They Cloned Tyrone” star Teyonah Parris is jumping into the world of Mattel’s matchbox cars for Apple Original Films’ upcoming movie, “Matchbox.” The live-action film, based on the die-cast toy vehicle line, stars John Cena and Parris joins an expanding cast that also includes Jessica Biel and Sam Richardson. “Extraction” filmmaker Sam Hargrave is set to direct based on a screenplay by David Coggeshall (“The Family Plan,” “Orphan: First Kill”) and Jonathan Tropper (upcoming “Your Friends and Neighbors,” “The Adam Project,” “Warrior,” “See”).

Daisy Ridley has remembered the time she nearly choked to death during an episode of BBC hospital drama Casualty.In a new interview with The Guardian, a reader wrote in and said that they thought they’d spotted Ridley as a teenager in a training film about CPR [cardiopulmonary resuscitation].Ridley confirmed that she was indeed the teenager in the video – and then went on to detail how she had her own emergency in the same year the video was filmed when she appeared in an episode of Casualty.She explained: “It’s an interactive video where someone has collapsed, I give them CPR, then there are talking points. I remember it was absolutely freezing in Covent Garden flower market and we were knee-deep in water because it had been raining.

for “Gladiator II” so exquisitely that the filmmakers made him go shirtless for as many scenes as possible, according to his personal trainer Tim Blakeley. In an interview with The Post, Blakeley also revealed the secret weapon he deployed to help the Irish star get a quick pump on set: Coca-cola. Mescal’s show-stopping figure was hard won.

As speculation continues to mount over who will be the next James Bond, up-and-coming actor Barry Keoghan has emerged as a strong contender to play the franchise's next villain.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter “X-Men” alum Simon Kinberg is preparing to visit a galaxy far, far away. Lucasfilm is developing a new “Star Wars” trilogy with Kinberg set to write and produce the three films with studio chief Kathleen Kennedy.

Daisy Ridley has opened up about the distress she felt following an 2019 interview in which she was asked about her “privilege” growing up compared to her Star Wars co-star John Boyega.Ridley starred as Rey alongside Boyega in three Star Wars outings, films The Force Awakens (2015), The Last Jedi (2017), and The Rise of Skywalker (2019).The comments, which were made in a Guardian interview, came after Ridley was asked by the interviewer about her “privileged” upbringing. The interviewer quizzed Ridley on “if she thinks it has been easier to be confident and navigate her celebrity because of the privilege in her life” including “boarding school and her upbringing.” Ridley attended Tring Park Performing Arts School in Hertfordshire on a scholarship.The interviewer went on to write that Ridley felt there was “little difference between her experience and that of her co-star John Boyega, who grew up in south London to British Nigerian immigrant parents.”Ridley said in the Guardian interview: “John grew up on a council estate in Peckham and I think me and him are similar enough that… no… Also, I went to a boarding school for performing arts, which was different.”Now, in a new interview with The Telegraph, Ridley has opened up about the comments, claiming that her words were taken out of context.She told the outlet: “I literally couldn’t sleep after that came out…because I felt like, honestly, it was a purposeful de-contextualising.

Peaky Blinders writer Steven Knight has reportedly departed the upcoming Star Wars film that is set to revolve around Daisy Ridley’s Rey.Knight’s involvement was first announced in March 2023, when it emerged that he would be writing the screenplay for the movie, replacing Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson, who had themselves left the project.Variety reports that the film is intended to pick up the story after the events of Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker (2019), and will follow Rey’s efforts to open her own Jedi Academy. With this setback, however, it is unlikely the film will enter the production stage until the second half of 2025 at the earliest.NME has approached Knight’s representatives for comment.The film is still slated to be the directorial debut of Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, who directed episodes of the Disney+ series Ms. Marvel, and has picked up two Oscars for Best Documentary Short Film.There is not a Star Wars film set for release until Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian and Grogu in May 2026, which, if it arrives on time, will bring to an end a seven-year gap.

John Boyega has been tapped to star as Otis Redding in an upcoming biopic of the late soul icon’s life.The film, titled Otis & Zelma, per a Variety report is being directed by Channing Godfrey Peoples (Miss Juneteenth) and will see Danielle Deadwyler as Otis’ widow Zelma Redding.Otis & Zelma will reportedly chronicle the life and career of Otis Redding and “the 10 short years Otis and Zelma had together, and their eternal love story after his passing.” The logline continues: “Zelma’s resilience and determination to preserve his musical legacy for the last 56 years fuels her, just as much as Otis’ love for Zelma fueled him.”With revisions by Godfrey Peoples, Otis & Zelma is written by acclaimed playwright, screenwriter and actor Donnetta Lavinia Grays.Best known for his hits like ‘(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay’, ‘Respect’, ‘These Arms Of Mine’, ‘I’ve Been Loving You Too Long’ and ‘Hard To Handle’, Otis Redding rose to prominence as a soul musician in the 1960s. Prior to his fame, Otis at the age of 18 met Zelma and they got married in 1961.

EXCLUSIVE: Two-time Olympic gold medallist and trailblazing boxer Nicola Adams is set to make her Hollywood debut in the upcoming action-thriller The Gun On Second Street.

**Warning: spoilers ahead**The pulsating action thriller Rebel Ridge is streaming on Netflix now, but is Aaron Pierre’s former Marine able to bring justice to the town of Shelby Springs? Read on for all the info.The film stars Pierre, a rising British actor who has appeared in Old, The Underground Railroad and The A Word, as Terry Richmond, a highly skilled martial artist who is seeking to post bail for his cousin, but has the money seized unjustly by the local police. In trying to retrieve the money, Richmond uncovers a complex web of constitutional corruption that threatens his life and that of those who try to help him.Rebel Ridge is written and directed by Jeremy Saulnier (Green Room, Blue Ruin), and also stars Don Johnson as the local police chief, James Cromwell as the judge, and AnnaSophia Robb as Summer McBride, a legal clerk that sides with Richmond.In 2021, it was reported that John Boyega had walked away from the film mid-shoot due to “family reasons”, although the actor’s representatives later said claims he had simply walked away without telling producers were untrue.When Terry Richmond (Pierre) has his cousin’s bail money seized by the corrupt local police force, he challenges their authority, ultimately confronting the Chief Sandy Burnne (Johnson).

Alex Ritman Tosin Cole has already been part of two of the best-known sci-fi franchises around. Sure, the American-born British actor admits his turn as starfighter pilot Lieutenant Bastian in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” was perhaps a little “blink-and-you’ll miss it” (although it could have been a lot more — he got down to the final few auditioning for John Boyega’s role of Finn but “it just didn’t work out” and J.J. Abrams offered him this part instead).

EXCLUSIVE: Greta Lee is the latest to join the growing ensemble for Kathryn Bigelow‘s next film at Netflix. The untitled thriller also stars Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, Jared Harris and Gabriel Basso. Bigelow will direct. Netflix had no comment on the casting.

EXCLUSIVE: UTA has signed director and producer Dean Israelite for representation in all areas.

EXCLUSIVE: Gabriel Basso (The Night Agent) and Jared Harris (Chernobyl) are in final negotiations to join Netflix‘s new film from Academy Award winner Kathryn Bigelow, according to multiple sources.