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John Boyega Weighs In On The “Different Energy” Underpinning Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Chatting to EW, Detroit star John Boyega (Finn) has touched on Rian Johnson's M.O. while filming Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

He’s attacked the block (or should that be defended?) and watched as a dormant force sprung back to life, but for his latest gig, John Boyega is headed to the war-torn streets of Detroit for Kathryn Bigelow’s unflinching true-life drama.

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Due to hit theaters tomorrow opposite The Dark Tower, the fact that the actor is out doing press for the star-studded flick can only mean one thing for Star Wars fans – Boyega is about to be hounded about his role in Rian Johnson’s upcoming sequel, The Last Jedi.

And sure enough, Entertainment Weekly caught up with the rising star to discuss his ongoing role in that galaxy far, far away. On board to reprise as Finn, who was last seen nursing a nasty injury following his encounter with Kylo Ren aboard Starkiller base, Boyega recalled the “different energy” and upbeat spirit that Rian Johnson brought to set.

Being a different person comes with a different energy, a different perspective, and Rian definitely has his own unique style. Rian is just fun. Rian is just a fun guy. I have a feeling he is Santa Claus. I think Santa Claus is a part time director when it comes to December. He grows out the beard then does his thing, because he just so giving, he’s cheerful on set, and it’s always a fun time.

How exactly that energy will materialize on the big screen – if at all – is another question entirely, but John Boyega did go on to reaffirm the amount of creative freedom that Rian Johnson enjoyed while crafting The Last Jedi. By the sounds of it, the Looper writer-director was able to place his own stamp on Disney’s December tentpole, which ought to yield a fairly different Star Wars movie than, say, J.J. Abrams’ The Force Awakens.

What people fail to understand sometimes is that the success of these stories that will stay with us long-term is to bring new ideas, is to expand the universe. So we can have new stories, new people, just a different perspective is awesome. [Rian] had a chance to really go crazy, and I’m a big Star Wars buff so certain things I saw I was just like ‘Well, that’s a first.’ And that, for me, is really cool to experience.

Following in the footsteps of The Force Awakens and Rogue One, Star Wars: The Last Jedi will cordially invite moviegoers back to the Skywalker saga on December 15th of this year, and it may well herald a change of heart for Mark Hamill’s Luke.