British-Nigerian Actor John Boyega attended the European premiere of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker donning an agbada, a traditional Yoruba dress.
On Wednesday evening, the actor, who portrays Stormtrooper-turned-rebel Finn in the intergalactic film series, joined his co-stars in London for the premiere of the saga’s latest instalment.
The 27-year-old, who was born in the capital to British-Nigerian parents, graced the blue carpet wearing a blue Agbada, a wide-sleeved robe traditionally worn by men in West Africa, particularly in Nigeria.
Boyega has starred in the last three of the nine-episode sci-fi adventure. In the first film, his character, Finn, starts off as a soldier for the evil Galactic Empire and then switches to the rebel cause.
The 27-year-old also took his mother, father and sisters – all in matching outfits – to the screening on Wednesday evening.
“I decided to make sure that my mum gets her moment,” Boyega told African-Caribbean entertainment website The British Black List in an Instagram video.
“See, this is how your mum really wants you to go to the premier.”
Several social media users expressed their admiration for Boyega’s sartorial choice, praising him for paying homage to his African heritage.
“He looks ‘out of this world’,” one person commented.
“For a Nigerian kid raised on Star Wars, this means everything to me. Representation matters. Thank you,” someone else wrote.
John Adedayo B. Adegboyega is known professionally as John Boyega, is an English actor known for playing Finn in the 2015 film Star Wars: The Force Awakens and its 2017 sequel Star Wars: The Last Jedi, respectively the seventh and eighth films of the Star Wars series. Boyega rose to prominence in his native United Kingdom for his role as Moses in the 2011 sci-fi comedy film Attack the Block.
