New deal alert: John Boyega was confirmed as the star of Pacific Rim 2, the sequel to the defend-the-world mecca movie that killed the box office, softly raking in $411 million worldwide. Just to make sure everybody knew that the news was official tissue, the actor jumped on the TL to co-sign.
I’ll be taking on the Pacific Rim franchise with Steven S.Deknight directing. Very excited!
— John Boyega (@JohnBoyega) June 6, 2016
The entire Boyega internet fandom (especially me) reacted like this.
We celebrated. We gif’ed it up. It was a very good day on the interwebs. Everybody knows that Boyega is a beast on film and he brings the heat every time, even with the limited amount of work he’s done so far. The man just has the juice. But there was a follow-up tweet that less people paid attention to (just check the RTs and likes), but will mean even more down the line for Boyega’s career than grabbing a lead role in the Pacific Rim franchise.
So happy! My company UpperRoom Productions founded by myself & @MrFemiOguns, will co-produce #PacificRim2 alongside @Legendary
— John Boyega (@JohnBoyega) June 6, 2016
The massive success of the most recent Star Wars installation has afforded Mr. Boyega a very hot hand in Hollywood. He has his pick of projects. And though he reportedly didn’t take home a check as big as some of his veteran co-stars from The Force Awakens, he gained something that gave him an even bigger advantage if used correctly – leverage. Boyega and his agent Femi Oguns flexing that negotiating power for creative control in a franchise poised for further success is a huge win. The struggle to balance the racial divide of representation is one that requires effort in front of and behind the lens. And now, John Boyega has inserted himself into both sides of the action.
Other black and PoC on-screen powerhouses such as Queen Latifah, Sofia Vergara, Will Smith, Kevin Hart and more have taken the same opportunity over the years, building successful production companies that generate millions of dollars and cast leads that look like us (or sometimes just themselves). Latifah’s Flavor Unit Entertainment has a licensing deal with Netflix, giving them rights to debut films on their platform after release in theaters, and Centric, rebranding the network as the first channel specifically catered to the black woman. So yes fam, production credits are a very big deal.
Yo John, did the wire hit?
So now you have even more incentive to go help Pacific Rim 2 smash at the box office when it hits theaters. Knowing how much an advocate John is for black and PoC actors in lead roles on screen, giving UpperRoom Productions a chance to grow as a business will only give he and his partner Femi more opportunities and capital to back films that will do great work in the casting department.
We’ve been talking about the very serious issues of white-washing and the erasure of our characters in film, television and media in general for months now. There have been back-to-back disappointments in casting and entire films that have been white-washed without any regard for the repercussions. John Boyega’s taken his opportunity to make a structural difference. By supporting him, so can we.
Idris is proud, too.
@JohnBoyega @MrFemiOguns Well done lads. Big Tings.Boom. 👊🏾💯
— Idris Elba (@idriselba) June 7, 2016
Thanks for reading Strictly 4 My Blerds. What’s your favorite John Boyega moment in The Force Awakens? Let me know in the comments and tag a Facebook friend that needs to read this.
