THE lead character(s)

Since the Boyega thread has been locked (which frankly I find confusing....why not simply suspend the accounts of those who broke protocol ?) , I have no other choice but to post my thoughts in a new separate thread. Considering the length maybe my sharing my thoughts in a new thread is for the best anyway.

Warning: This is going to be a lengthy read so bail now if you have no patience for such things.

I am a fan of Boyega and I am looking forward to the Finn character the most in TFA. Yet if someone asked me if there was going to be only one single character who would be the true main protagonist then I would wager that character would be Rey. Various factors lead me to this. The whole Skywalker angle and how it is far more likely that Rey is a Skywalker. Kathleen Kennedy’s repeated remarks about improving the status of female characters in the SW universe, putting more strong women in the forefront and increasing the appeal of the franchise to girls. That a forceful female jedi lead is overdue and probably, to be blunt, supersedes the idea that a non-white lead is overdue too. And that considering both Boyega and Ridley are relative unknowns, demographically speaking Ridley is the safer choice to be The Face of the new trilogy. Also while magazine covers don’t necessarily sway me, KK taking Ridley alone to Japan for the first press conference does. Otherwise she would have a lot of explaining to do in terms of why Boyega, with a clear schedule at the time, was left home.

Yet despite all of that it is has never been out of the question that Boyega could be the lead. It may be less likely but, again, not out of the realm of possibility. Furthermore there is also a strong chance that Boyega is an equal co-lead to Ridley in TFA, in the vein of Mad Max and Furiosa. Like I mentioned above if the option is to have one clearly above the other then my gut tells me Rey, but the option of having both of them as leading protagonists on an equal-footing sounds just as likely to me.


Others may disagree with that last statement which is fine. What I can’t understand though is how so many have concluded that “evidence” only points in one direction : Ridley/Rey. Those with a desire to see Rey as the lone central protagonist will throw the same examples out time and time again to make their point while somehow managing to not notice signs that lean in Finn’s favor or at least in favor of two leads.


So U have taken it upon myself to list some of those signs. Since early 2014 as an avid SW fan I have been keeping up with all the news regarding this movie, and that means saving/storing them to my computer. What is to follow are examples of those news items. They are a mix of rumors (a couple which may have been debunked by now), official statements, true reporting by respected publications and websites, plot details from so-called inside sources, and a little speculation. My point in posting this is to demonstrate that whatever the outcome turns out to be, there has never been a time in which it was DEFINITIVE who would be the lead, not even in October of 2015!


The first thing I’m going to toss into the ring, without providing links, is that reports about casting indicate that the two roles that appeared to be a top priority were those of a female lead and a male lead (“Rachel” and “Thomas”), both of whom were roughly the same age. I don’t have to tell anyone who those characters are. Taking nothing away from the importance of the casting for characters like Kylo Ren (Adam Driver is the one who appeared to have gotten chosen first), getting Rey and Finn appeared to be most important task.

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http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Star-Wars-Episode-VII-May-Focus-John-Boyega-Character-43385.html

Star Wars: Episode VII May Focus On John Boyega's Character

BY SEAN O'CONNELL 2014-06-09 19:33:53


Who is going to be the focal point of J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: Episode VII? Some reports suggest a meaty role for Harrison Ford’s outlaw, Han Solo. Others think that the baton is getting passed to the younger generation… possibly the children of either Luke Skywalker, or Han and Leia. And now we’re hearing a new candidate for potential story "lead," and it’s none other than Attack the Block standout John Boyega.

The actor’s name was highlighted on a bullet-point list of "things we believe to be true" published by Latino-Review pertaining to Star Wars: Episode VII. From what the site has confirmed (though anonymous sources), Boyega is the character who "has the story arc that brings him into Star Wars’ greater universe" in a narrative that "has echoes of Luke’s arc in A New Hope." The site goes on to say that John Boyega’s character isn’t a Jedi OR a Padawan at the start of the movie, but that likely could change if Mark Hamill – as the older, wiser Luke – mentors this powerful man in the way that Yoda took Luke under his felt-puppet wing.



[ Note: I didn’t get the original Latino Review writeup, this is an article that indirectly refers to it. Still it works as an early example of scuttlebutt that some were getting regarding the character dynamics of the film. LR doesn’t always get things right, but there are times it gets the scoop and beats everyone else to the punch. Was this one of those times? Who knows? There’s a lot that looks legit in that description and some that doesn’t. Perhaps it only got it half right. Or all of it right. Or nothing at all. To be determined.]

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http://www.movieweb.com/news/star-wars-episode-vii-cast-and-character-breakdown

John Boyega

John Boyega's name was first rumored just this past March, where he was said to be competing against relative unknowns Ed Speleers, Matthew James Thomas, and Broadway actor Ray Fisher, as well as long rumored Breaking Bad actor Jesse Plemons. The role is reportedly that of Lead Jedi in the next three movies, and he will have a personal connection with the main Sith villain, played by Adam Driver. When we first meet John Boyega's character, he is an apprentice under Luke Skywalker. It isn't a huge role in the first movie, but will expand to a lead in the second two films. This character is not Luke Skywalker's son. Though, there is evidence that he is a descendant of Obi-Wan Kenobi, a role originally thought to be female, with little known actress Maisie Richardson-Sellers and Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o up for the role. Michael B. Jordan was also up for this same role, but has since moved onto the The Fantastic Fourreboot. This is a character that has gone through many different changes between theMichael Arndt screenplay and the one being read right now by the cast in London, written by J.J. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan. At one point, many speculated that this character was Lando Calrissian's son. That seems unlikely, especially since Billy Dee Williams does not appear to be a part of the cast.


[Note: This report seems to be all over the place but at least it owns up to how their speculations have been in flux. It is hard to trust their use of the word “reportedly” when stating that Boyega’s role would be as Lead Jedi because I have my doubts on what type of reporting they did to come across that info. I’ll chalk it up wild speculation but I still thought it would be worth throwing it out there.]

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[Note: What follows is a twitter conversation on June 26th, 2014 between Chris Tilly and Moises Chiullan. Tilly is the IGN Movie Editor and Co-host of The Superhero Show. Chiullan is the Founder/Host of @ESNfm. ]


Chris Tilly‏@TillyTweets

Hearing from a very reliable source that John Boyega is the lead in Episode VII. Which is a very, very good thing.

Moisés Chiullan‏@moiseschiu

@TillyTweets I've heard the same thing for a bit. Thrills me.


[Note: Again nothing above settles the debate but it does show how two guys who cover the industry were hearing the same thing from their separate sources.]


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http://badassdigest.com/2014/07/20/exclusive-star-wars-episode-vii-plot-details-revealed/

Published July 20, 2014 by Devin Faraci

Exclusive: STAR WARS EPISODE VII Plot Details Revealed!


Excerpt 1

That hand falls onto a desert planet, where it is discovered by characters who will be our heroes. One is Daisy Ridley. The other is John Boyega, who is playing someone trying to change his path in life (again, I'm keeping it vague here). They recognize the light saber as a Jedi relic and decide to return it to the proper people.

-And-

Excerpt 2

There's more, of course - this is just the broadest of outlines, a basic synopsis. On the one hand I sort of roll my eyes at the story echoing A New Hope, but on the other I like the propulsive quest concept. I'm hearing extremely positive things about the action, and very, very good things about the characters themselves and the way the actors are bringing them to life. Again and again I'm hearing that John Boyega owns this movie.


[Note: Faraci took some heat for the whole falling hand angle, but a month ago some official info came out that pretty much legitimized the other handful of spoilers he provided. In this article the two parts that stand out is Faraci’s implication that “our heroes” are played by Ridley and Boyega. Now that could mean nothing more than that Isaac wasn’t around for those scenes so there was no need to write “two of our three heroes.” In the same token it could mean very well that THE two heroes, THE main leads, are being played by Boyega and Ridley.

It should be noted that Faraci was one of the first, if not the first, online writers who claimed that Boyega was playing a stormtrooper who desserts the Empire and joins forces with Ridley’s character.

http://badassdigest.com/2014/07/20/star-wars-episode-vii-follow-up-john-boyegas-character-is/

He also was the early one to provide these following details way back last year, details which seem to be more and more likely based upon recent official reports and spoilers:

“The site claimed they have sources who have confirmed that Gwendolyn Christie will play the role of an Imperial officer. She is the commanding officer of John Boyega's character who sets out to hunt him since she is furious that he has gone AWOL.” (indirect link : http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/5602...de-vii-sith-imperial-officer.htm#.U9zcqPldVyU )

The other part (Excerpt 2) was interesting feedback to Faraci about how the movie was coming together in general and how well Boyega was doing specifically. ]


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http://www.vulture.com/2014/08/what-we-now-know-about-star-wars-episode-7.html

What We Now Know About Star Wars: Episode VII (and What We Still Don’t)

By Kyle Buchanan August 2014

Who Are the Leads?

According to reports, John Boyega (Attack the Block) and Daisy Ridley will be toplining Episode VII, and most likely two more Star Wars sequels beyond that.


[Note: No separation indicated to reports this writer came across. Both Boyega and Ridley seem to be on equal footing.]

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http://www.slashfilm.com/star-wars-7-jj-abrams-photo-edgar-wright/

[Note: Okay this report on August 19, 2014 contains nothing movie specific but it provided me the opportunity to do a little detective work. With filming put on hold because of Ford’s injury, JJ reportedly flew back to California to be with his family and touch base with Disney execs. Based on the widely spread images of this link we found out he was joined by two of his stars in the film: yep you guessed it….Boyega and Ridley, who participated in some get-together JJ had with Edgar Wright. Here’s where my speculation comes in…..Boyega and Ridley are both from the UK and could have just stayed home with JJ returned to the States. But instead they went to LA as well. Why? Probably something Disney-related. If so why were they the only two? More speculation : because they are the two primary leads of the new trilogy. This seems like a pattern. If Disney is calling the shots in terms of promotions and such things isn’t it interesting that those two are almost always together, always joined at the hip? When Disney came out with its new Infinity game figures for D23 ( http://makingstarwars.net/2015/08/rey-and-finn-disney-infinity-figures-revealed/ ) it was just Rey and Finn and of course both Boyega and Ridley stayed an extra day in Florida for the promotion/reveal. Oscar Issac, Lupita Nyong’o and Harrison Ford were all there the previous day but only Ridley and Boyega were thee for game’s ceremony the day after, their two game characters were the first from TFA to be revealed. ]


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http://www.starwarsunderworld.com/2014/10/rumor-more-info-about-ridley-boyegas.html

Rumor: More Info About Ridley & Boyega's Episode VII Roles

POSTED BY CHRIS SEEKELL ON 10/27/20140 COMMENTS

Tonight Get Your Geek On host David Gremillion revealed on his show that a source had told him some information about Daisy Ridley and John Boyega's roles in Star Wars Episode VII.

Gremillion stated that the source confirmed to him that Ridley's character name is Kira, which fits with rumors we have heard before. The source also added that at some point Kira will take to space in the film flying a starfighter. The source cited seeing footage of Daisy Ridley in a cockpit making maneuvers in space.

Concerning John Boyega's character, the source confirmed to Gremillion that Boyega is indeed playing a Force-user, most likely a Jedi, and wields a lightsaber. This also fits with many rumors we have heard concerning Boyega's role.

It sounds more and more like Ridley and Boyega will be the pillars of the new generation of Star Wars characters.

[Note: So they get the name wrong with Kira as well as a couple of details that seem a bit off, so who knows how much of this is accurate. Still…once again….all the talk was about Ridley and Boyega being the pillars of this coming trilogy.]

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http://io9.com/a-shot-for-shot-dissection-of-all-the-clues-in-the-star-1664299291

A Shot-For-Shot Dissection Of All The Clues In The Star Wars Trailer

Meredith Woerner

The rumor mill on this character is that he's the central hero (along with Daisy Ridley) and starting the teaser with his face could be bolstering that suspicion. But in the end, it is all just suspicion.

[Note: The writer for i09 did a breakdoiwn of the first teaser and in the process revealed rumors of what Boyega’s status was. Nothing official here of course but another indication that some folks were hearing that he was the “central hero”.]





This is part of a twitter discussion Harry Knowles, the creator of Ain’t It Cool News, had on Nov. 28th, 2014:

Harry Knowles ‏@headgeek666 15h15 hours ago

@coach_dude nah, love ATTACK THE BLOCK, but I hear Boyega is fantastic in next year's SW flick, also I've met him. But I hunger for more!

[Note: I realize a bunch of people don’t trust Knowles these days but still I thought it was worth mentioning his tweet that he was hearing (presumably from his own sources) more accolades being thrown Boyega’s way for the work he had done on TFA.]

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http://www.christiantoday.com/artic...he.force.john.boyega.luke.skywalker/44028.htm

According to Movie Pilot's report, the Force is now more potent and stronger. Its nature has now changed and Force-sensitive individuals definitely know that they have the gift. However, not everyone is ready for this change.

The Force now manifests on more people whom the Force deems to be capable of using it. This happens after the Jedi purge and the Empire repression. A great tremor in the beginning of the movie will show the change of the Force.

Meanwhile, John Boyega plays the new Luke Skywalker in the movie. He feels the tremor and realizes that the gift is upon him.

[Note: This Dec. 9th article lifts from a report by Movie Pilot. The info may be total bs of course. But once more a site is claiming that Boyega is essentially the main protagonist].


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http://www.vulture.com/2015/09/hollywood-oscars-young-actor-shortage.html

September 8, 2015

Are Young Actors Bailing on Movies? How the Oscars Reveal Hollywood’s Leading-Man Drought

By Kyle Buchanan

Young American Men Don’t Want to Act

Over the last few years, three leading-man roles specifically written for an under-25 performer were among the most coveted roles in Hollywood: Louis Zamperini in Unbroken, Finn in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Peter Parker in Marvel’s upcoming rejiggering of the Spider-Manfranchise. Every castable actor in the young-male demographic went out for these roles, and producers went all over the world in a months-long search to find men. And in the end, every single one of those parts went to a Brit.


[Note: This is the first paragraph of an article, from September of this year, that dives into the subject of a supposed crisis of young American actors. It immediately made me reconsider my position on whether Boyega’s role was as big as Ridley’s. The author Kyle Buchanan, a well known and well regarded entertainment writer with contacts in the Hollywood industry, used the description “leading-man roles” when referring to these three parts. Did he word it wrong? Possible but unlikely. He picked those three roles, including the one of Finn, as examples because he must have been informed not only on how coveted the role was but how large the role was as well. Supporting roles, sidekick roles, are typically not as coveted. The other two examples were roles of characters who were undoubtedly THE LEAD of their respective films. By including Finn with those two is the writer saying that about Finn as well? Of course Finn could be The Leading Man alongside The Leading Female, Rey which is what the author likely believes too since he pretty much wrote that was the case the previous year. Regardless what his words appear to do is elevate Finn over Kylo and Poe Dameron at least. There is a separation. And for all those who like to make the comparisons between Finn and Han Solo, ask yourself in early 1977 if Han would have been described as the “leading-man role” for Star Wars. ]


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http://www.ew.com/article/2015/08/12/star-wars-force-awakens-character-names


Star Wars: The Force Awakens: J.J. Abrams explains what's in a name

BY ANTHONY BREZNICAN 8-12-15


FINN AND REY

When Abrams first revealed the names of his new characters, by way of mocked-up Topps trading cards last December, two were notable for being… singular.

The runaway stormtrooper played by John Boyega was known only as Finn, and Daisy Ridley’s desert scavenger was identified only as Rey.

I finally got to ask: Is that deliberate? Is there a piece of information that’s being held back there about their names — perhaps because their last names are ones we may already know?

Abrams isn’t ready to reveal their full identities, but did confirm that this theory was getting warm. “I will only say about that that it is completely intentional that their last names aren’t public record,” he says.


[Note: By now we all know of the thousand theories on why Rey and Finn’s surnames have not been revealed. The question I ask is it is a coincidence that the two characters that have been in the forefront of promotion for the film are also the lone ones among our heroes whose origins are shrouded in some form of mystery? Is it a coincidence that once more they are joined at the hip, this time in terms of how they share similar characteristics? It looks to me that TPTB have gone out of their way to make these two characters connected in many ways. It is as if how they have been handled, everything done with them, has been symbolic. That includes the fact that Boyega and Ridley were the first and only main cast members at Abu Dhabi for the first week of filming of TFA. Are TPTB trying to tell us something? Something like “here are your two leads and main protagonists for the new movies?" ]



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http://www.denofgeek.us/movies/star...s-john-boyega-talks-finn-trailer-release-date

Star Wars: The Force Awakens News: John Boyega Talks Finn, Trailer & Release Date

John Saavedra 9/24/2015 at 1:30PM

John Boyega, who plays Finn in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, spoke to GQabout the film and what is was like to step into Finn's shoes. He also had some thing to say about wielding a lightsaber, which was something we didn't know about until the powers that be teased his duel against Kylo Ren on Instagram a few weeks ago.

Here are some highlights from the interview...


[Note: This article essentially focuses on some of the more interesting remarks that Boyega made recently to GQ. There are a few that stand out to me. First is that he compares his role to both Luke and Han which could mean anything from he’s a lead, to he is a supporting character, to he is a co-lead. The important thing is that nothing he said there shuts the door on the possibility that he could be the lead. Another interesting remark he made was that he found the Finn character to be the “best character” in the script. Is that frank boasting, prideful appreciation of the character or delusional arrogance? Can he separate his own obvious fondness for his role to objectively determined which role is the best? Perhaps there is some truth t what he claims. And last of all the comment that really sticks out to me is his revelation that the auditioning process took 7 months. For those of you unaware that is a REALLY long time for auditioning, even by Hollywood standards. It typically doesn’t take studios that long to make a decision. What that tells me is how crucial Finn’s role was and how TPTB had to make sure they got the right guy. And this is not something folks in Hollywood usually don’t do to fill a supporting role, no matter how well written it is. This type of lengthy effort is applied for the casting of lead roles. Period. ]



Let me add that Finn’s prominence in all three teasers (roughly equal to Rey’s as far as how many times he is seen) also suggests an importance in his character above all others except Rey. But you guys don’t need links to those.


So as it stands right now I’m at least convinced that there is a good chance that Finn and Rey are equal co-leads. But if that isn’t the case then my best bet is Finn is 1B to Rey’s 1A which truthfully is where I’m leaning at this point anyway. Some would take this to think that I concur that Finn is the Han Solo to Rey’s Luke. That’s not the case. Don’t get me wrong. Finn or any new character in TFA would be lucky to be as popular as Han. Han Solo is one of cinema’s all-time iconic characters. But as beloved and well-conceived Han is the fact remains his character never drove storylines or shaped events in the OT. In ANH he shows up more than 30 minutes into the film to ASSIST Luke and Ben on their mission. He is a smuggler for hire and granted while he does have his own motivations, he really doesn’t have much of an arc. He is a pirate with the heart of gold. Despite all of his claims in being only “in it for the money” he comes across as such an obvious softie who actually is starting to care about these new people he has hooked up with. Even as a kid I wasn’t surprised when he came back to help Luke destroy the Deathstar.


Finn, on the other hand, is different. He is going to appear in TFA very early, perhaps the first scene. It is he who will be helping set the plot in motion. He will be the one who has to make a quick major decision that will change the course of his life (if it doesn’t end it first) and the lives of others. It is he who is being pursued throughout the movie. It is he who will be the connecting piece between Rey and Poe since it appears those two don’t really share much screen time in TFA while he shares time with both. It is he who will be side by side with Rey for most of the film. From all reports he doesn’t set aside his goals in order to help her accomplish hers, instead their plots seem to intertwine. Based upon spoilers it is he who gains a new mentor only to end up losing him. Like Luke in ANH. It is he who has to provide crucial information to the Resistance all the while probably trying to win their trust. It is he who goes from a stormtrooper fighting alongside Kylo Ren and the First Order to a guy who has changed allegiances, picked up a lightsaber and ends up personally fighting Kylo Ren himself Talk about an arc. Most main SW characters didn’t get that good of an arc over the course of multiple films and that’s including Han Solo whose greatest change ultimately became his finding himself in a relationship with Leia. Finn however gets such an amazing arc in just one film. No wonder Boyega called the role “dope”.


People used to go over to the Boyega/Finn thread warning other folks that they are bound to be disappointed if they were expecting him to be a lead or anything. But to be honest I think the vast majority of those who favor Finn are level-headed and reasonable in what they expect. Those who favor Rey however are the ones likely to be disappointed. They are to be disappointed because it is they who have set such high marks for that character. Too often they make remarks which suggest Rey will dominate this next trilogy in ways that no other previous character had before. They have taken Jason Ward’s initial approach of Mary Sue-ing Rey in their minds. She is going to be the smartest, the brightest, the funniest, the toughest and the most developed character in SW history. They have her saving the universe by herself with her loyal companions in tow. Only she will have mysteries surrounding her, only she will have an arc that extends over all three films, she alone will take the hero’s journey.

Even if many Finn fans want him to be the lead I’m pretty certain that most would be okay with the idea of equal co-leads or Finn being just one small notch below Rey. Rey fans on the other hand? Anything but her being THE central character and THE clear lead will be seen as a disappointment by most of them. They don’t want her sharing the limelight in any way. And Finn having a hero's journey of his own would take away much of that limelight IMO.

 

Thanks, guys, for all of your complimentary responses. That took a chunk of my time yesterday to finish and I had to give it a little touch up this morning before I posted. I'm glad you all seemed to like it if not entirely agree on it. The key thing of all is just to keep the conversation civil and for all parties to have an open mind.