The last several years have been the biggest not only for John Boyega’s acting career, but arguably his entire life. After appearing in projects like Attack the Block and 24: Live Another Day, he became famous worldwide for playing stormtrooper-turned-Resistance soldier Finn in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Boyega is keeping busy right now with 2017’s Star Wars: Episode VIII, but his adventures in a galaxy far, far away may not be the only major franchise he gets to participate in. There are now rumblings that he could be in talks to join a Marvel movie.
On Monday, Best of Marvel noticed that John Boyega posted a Snapchat about a “meeting” he was attending, and minutes later, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige started following him on Twitter. That by itself is certainly interesting, but not enough proof of him joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, while covering Black Panther director Ryan Coogler’s recent comments about how personal this movie is to him, Heroic Hollywood mentioned talk of Boyega possibly meeting to join Black Panther. Again, this is should all be taken with a grain of salt, but assuming the information is legitimate, it sounds like there’s a chance we could see him appearing in Wakanda in 2018
Given how busy he is with the new Star Wars trilogy, adding a Marvel movie to his slate of work would be difficult, but not impossible. One of Boyega’s cast-mates on The Force Awakens was Luptia Nyong’o, who voiced and played via motion capture Maz Kanata. Last week, Nyong’o was reported to be in talk to join Black Panther as T’Challa’s love interest, though her casting isn’t official yet. If she can make Black Panther work with her other projects, then Boyega might be able to do so as well. Plus, since Marvel and Star Wars are both part of the Disney family, that makes it easier to coordinate schedules, as opposed to if Boyega was involved with a major franchise at another major studio.
So far the only officially confirmed Black Panther actor is Chadwick Boseman reprising T’Challa following Captain America: Civil War, though Creed’s Michael B. Jordan was reported as joining the cast last week. It’s also been implied that Andy Serkis’ Ulysses Klaue and Martin Freeman’s Everett Ross will play roles in the movie. Currently John Boyega is deep into Star Wars: Episode VIII’s production, and while no official dates have been set in stone yet, Black Panther is expected to begin shooting early next year. If these supposed meetings go well, maybe Boyega could fit that movie in right before Star Wars: Episode IX, assuming Finn is still alive for that installment.
Black Panther hits theaters on February 16, 2018. As for Boyega, you can see return as Finn when Star Wars: Episode VIII arrives on December 15, 2017.
