The director of Rebel Ridge has finally addressed John Boyega’s sudden departure from the project during its filming.
The Netflix film, currently topping the streamer’s charts globally and in the US, was initially supposed to have the Star Wars actor in the primary role of Terry Richmond.
Directed by Jeremy Saulnier, the narrative follows Richmond as he seeks vengeance against a corrupt local police force.
The movie has garnered widespread acclaim from both fans and critics, boasting a 94 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes and ranking as the biggest movie on Netflix.
Despite its success, the film’s production was fraught with challenges.
As reported by The Hollywood Reporter (THR), Boyega left the project halfway through filming without leaving any notice.
THR revealed that, based on insider information, Boyega’s absence was only realized when someone visited his hotel room to find him gone.
They reported: “According to one person with knowledge of the situation, the filmmakers only discovered [Boyega had left the film] when they looked for him at his hotel and found that he had checked out.
“According to sources, there seemed to be no one incident that prompted Boyega to leave in the midst of shooting.
“Several insiders, however, say the star had myriad issues ranging from the script to his accommodations.”
The report continued: “Top Netflix executives, including head of global films Scott Stuber and co-CEO Ted Sarandos, tried to persuade the star to return to the set without success.”
As a result, several crew members were dismissed, and production was paused for a year.
Boyega’s agent later issued a statement to counter the speculation that the actor had conflicts with Netflix.
The statement read: “I can categorically say that these rumors are completely untrue. People will form their opinions often rooted from boredom. As stated John unfortunately left due to family reasons which in truth is none of anyone’s business except his own.
“John and Netflix have a wonderful relation which will continue to grow for years to come whether that be through his acting or through [his production company] UpperRoom.”
Eventually, director Jeremy Saulnier cast Aaron Pierre as the new lead, taking over the role of ex-marine Terry Richmond.
In an interview with Vulture, Saulnier broke his silence on the matter: “When John left the film, it was inevitable and out of respect for all parties involved; I can’t get into the details of it.
“But every party would agree, it was the right situation. It had to be that way. And I was willing to risk the movie unless I found the one and only true Terry Richmond.”
Discussing the casting of Pierre, he mentioned: “The search was insanely short, because within weeks, I had a Zoom call in Louisiana with Aaron Pierre, and I knew in less than two minutes that this is the guy.
“We had a very deep conversation. We were at this perfect crossroads, his career, my career.
“Netflix was insanely supportive of giving Aaron the opportunity. And no one who’s seen the film can imagine a version of this without Aaron Pierre.”
Rebel Ridge is available on Netflix now.