Star Wars Alum John Boyega Gave An A+ Response When Asked If He’d Star In A Rom-Com

John Boyega and Oscar Isaac in Finn and Poe in Star Wars: Force Awakens
(Image credit: (Lucasfilm))

It’s been nearly a year since John Boyega broke the Star Wars chains with the controversial conclusion of Rise of Skywalker. Following his sendoff, the actor is starring in a piece of dramatic work from Steve McQueen’s five-film anthology film series, Small Axe. Boyega will portray Leroy Logan and depict the true story of how Logan decided to join Scotland Yard’s police force after witnessing the brutal treatment of Black residents.

John Boyega is in an exciting new chapter in this career, where I’d imagine the possibilities are vast. When speaking to EW about the Small Axe film Red, White and Blue, he talked about his willingness to dabble in many different genres moving forward. He’s up for it all, including horror. And when he was asked about his interest in rom-coms, he gave the perfect response:

Rom-com, oh yes! Absolutely. I love a rom-com, or a romantic drama. Just make sure that woman gives me space on the door. We ain’t doing that, Kate Winslet!

Yeah, John Boyega is just dreamy enough to be a great leading man in a romance film, whether it be a comedy or drama. But as he quipped, he’s not ready to be part of any age-old debates, such as the one Titanic will never live down. Leo could have fit too, Kate and James Cameron!

He jokes, but there’s something to be said about romance movies often killing off one of their characters just to get us crying. And then, of course, there’s the trauma of John Boyega’s Finn perhaps having more intimate ties with Daisy Ridley’s Rey or Oscar Isaac’s Poe. Fans were teased with both of these possibilities throughout the sequel trilogy, but neither loose end was tied before the last credit crawl. Since then, John Boyega has been vocal about the treatment of Finn and other minority characters in Star Wars. In his words:

I think there could’ve been a very interesting, forward-thinking – not even forward-thinking, just, like, current-thinking – love story there, something that hadn’t quite been explored yet; particularly the dynamic between these two men in war that could’ve fallen in love with each other. I would try to push it a bit in that direction, but the Disney overlords were not ready to do that.

Although we’re still very much sour about Finn and Poe shippers not getting what they’d hoped for after teases along the way, John Boyega in a completely unrelated rom-com would be so fun to see. Those types of movies always look like a blast to make, and the actor deserves some happiness on the big screen after some disappointment. Whether it's a rom-com, a horror film, a James Bond flick or more affecting dramas, we’re excited to see how Boyega's career progresses. His Small Axe film, Red, White and Blue, is now streaming on Amazon Prime.

Up next: John Boyega Small Axe: Red, White and Blue Interview

Sarah El-Mahmoud
Staff Writer

Sarah El-Mahmoud has been with CinemaBlend since 2018 after graduating from Cal State Fullerton with a degree in Journalism. In college, she was the Managing Editor of the award-winning college paper, The Daily Titan, where she specialized in writing/editing long-form features, profiles and arts & entertainment coverage, including her first run-in with movie reporting, with a phone interview with Guillermo del Toro for Best Picture winner, The Shape of Water. Now she's into covering YA television and movies, and plenty of horror. Word webslinger. All her writing should be read in Sarah Connor’s Terminator 2 voice over.