#John Boyega Quits Netflix’s Rebel Ridge Mid-Shoot

John Boyega has pulled out of new Netflix film Rebel Ridge one month into shooting. According to Deadline, the Star Wars actor left the movie due to “family reasons” without any warning leaving the streaming giant with a tough decision on who to replace him with. The production, which has been put on temporary hold, got underway on the 5th May in Louisiana, but the departure of one of its lead actors has thrown the movie into chaos.

A statement from a Netflix spokesman said, “Rebel Ridge is pausing temporarily as we look to re-cast John Boyega who needed to leave the project for family reasons. We remain committed to Jeremy Saulnier’s extraordinary film and look forward to resuming production. We look forward to continuing our partnership with John Boyega’s UpperRoom Productions, in addition to our upcoming film They Cloned Tyrone in which he also stars.”

It is very unusual for an actor to leave a lead role during production, especially when there seems to be no ill-feeling involved, and it can only be assumed that whatever has occurred in his private life is serious enough for John Boyega to drop the movie entirely in this way. It is obvious that we hope he is able to deal with the situation and send well wishes for whatever he is going through.

Rebel Ridge was originally meant to have been completed by now, with the original shooting schedule slated for April 2020 until it was delayed by Covid19 along with so many other productions around the world. As of now, there is little known about the plot of the movie, with a lot of secrecy around the storyline. The basic premise is known to focus on systematic American injustice with use of action sequences, black humor and suspense. Not very much to go on, but obviously we are going to me massively intrigued by anything that tries to keep its details a secret.

The movie stars AnnaSophia Robb, Emory Cohen, Don Johnson, James Cromwell, James Badge Dale, Zsane Jhe and Al Vicente. The question of who will take Boyega’s roles is one that will now be undergoing some serious thought. Depending on his exactly purpose and role in the movie plot, there may be few actors currently available to take over when so many delayed shoots are just getting underway again.

Rebel Ridge was likely to be released on Netflix early 2022, but whether that will now be the case is something that we will just have to wait and see. Writer and director Jeremy Saulnier helms the movie, his fifth turn in the director’s chair, and based on his previous movies there is high expectation riding on the back of it. Two of his previous movies, Blue Ruin from 2013 and Green Room from 2015, hold fantastic approval ratings of 96% and 90% respectively on Rotten Tomatoes, and his last effort, Hold The Dark, which was released on Netflix in 2018 also gained generally favorable reviews.

John Boyega is set to star with Jamie Foxx and Teyonah Parris in Netflix’s They Cloned Tyrone, which wrapped filming in March and is expected to be released later this year on the platform. This news comes to us from Deadline.

Topics: Rebel Ridge, Netflix, Streaming