The Way the World Looks

That's what J.J. Abrams said he wanted his cast for The Force Awakens to resemble. Rey was conceived as a female protagonist from the get-go, but both she and Finn were written without any specifications to race. Then the filmmakers went searching for actors with a mind toward opening up the galaxy to new faces. Boyega says young Star Wars fans see heroes, not color. "They’re not talking about race the way we grown folks are. They’re not talking about how much melanin is in someone’s skin. That should teach us something. We’ve been having a continuous struggle with idiots, and now we should just force them to understand — this is the new world. There are loads of people of different shades and backgrounds. Get used to it.”