‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Actor Shuts Down Controversial Casting Decisions
Star Wars: The Force Awakens had fans in an uproar about the movie’s controversial casting decision, but a new actor to the franchise shut down the argument with his comments in a recent Entertainment Weekly cover story.
John Boyega, who plays a storm trooper, witnessed a backlash from a segment of fans over a black storm trooper. His response was Force-ful.
“We’ve been having a continuous struggle with idiots, and now we should just force them to understand – and I love the way I just used Force there, by the way – just force people to see this is the new world. There are loads of people of different shades and backgrounds. Get used to it.”
The racial makeup of the actors is both intentional and unintentional. In the same Entertainment Weekly article, writer and director of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, J. J. Abrams discussed casting for a futuristic movie.
“Writing this script with Larry Kasdan, I didn’t know what Rey was going to look like, I didn’t know what Finn or Poe would look like. I just knew that this movie needed to look the way the world looks.”
Actress Daisy Ridley also weighed in on the race discussion and how she and cast mate John Boyega would be viewed.
“John and I had a conversation last year and we both knew that was how it was going to be. He was going to be the black guy and I was going to be the girl. I think neither of those things could ever be a bad thing.”
For Daisy Ridley, though, her character Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens transcends race. Rey is a complex character who is on a journey of self-discovery in the middle of a large universe. “My main thing is that people connect with her, regardless of gender, color, age,” Daisy Ridley said.
Director J. J. Abrams also took on opponents of the casting for Star Wars: The Force Awakens with a tweet saying that he just hopes that everyone liked the trailer, regardless of their race, human or otherwise.
#TheForceAwakens has already sold more than $50 million in advanced tickets https://t.co/BAUzvZ4Ip0 pic.twitter.com/X4KQFZJFjs
— Variety (@Variety) November 21, 2015
Star Wars: The Force Awakens has just released its trailer, ensuring that when the film premiers on December 18, 2015, it will be a blockbuster success. Fans of the Star Wars franchise have been awaiting this sequel to the original trilogy of movies for decades, and millions of fans have already bought advanced tickets. Despite the release of the trailer, little is still known about what events will unfold in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The events in the movie take place around 30 years after Return of the Jedi and the cast includes a mixture of new and old faces.
Original cast members Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia Organa), and Harrison Ford (Hans Solo), will all be in Star Wars: The Force Awakens in some capacity. Joining the veteran actors are relative newcomers Ridley as scavenger Rey and Boyega as redeemed storm trooper Finn. Rounding out the trio is X-Wing pilot Oscar Isaac.
https://instagram.com/p/9q8xOxs_S2/?taken-by=starwars
Along with the release of the Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer came some unexpected buzz, that of possible Academy Award nominations. The first Star Wars movie was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay, so there is precedent for this particular buzz. In fact, all six Star War movies have been nominated for Academy Awards, primarily in the visual effects categories.
Part of why Star Wars: The Force Awakens has hints of Academy Award nominations is that there have so far been no front runners in this awards season. According to The Atlantic, now that the shortlist for Best Picture category can include between five and 10 nominations means there is more room for movies from different genres. Poised to be a big blockbuster, this is good news for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
It has been 10 years since a new Star Wars movie has come out and a lot is riding on the latest installment, Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Come December 18, 2015, its fate will be known.
[Photo by Star Wars/Instagram]
