Netflix's Rebel Ridge Almost Starred A Star Wars Actor Before Aaron Pierre

Actors walk away from projects all the time, for all sorts of reasons. "Scheduling conflicts" and "creative differences" are two of the most-cited, but for the most part, when word comes out about an actor parting ways with a movie or TV show, they leave before filming has actually begun. Sometimes they walk away perilously close to the start of production, as was the case when Joaquin Phoenix bailed on a Todd Haynes' movie last month less than a week before cameras started rolling (and he could potentially face legal action because he cut it so close). 

But in 2021, something even more unusual happened: Actor John Boyega left the production of writer/director Jeremy Saulnier's Netflix action thriller "Rebel Ridge" one month after the movie started filming. An exit like that is extremely rare in modern Hollywood (at least a publicized exit is, anyway), and it caused the film to shut down so Saulnier could find a new lead actor.

Boyega, who played reformed stormtrooper Finn in the most recent "Star Wars" film trilogy, reportedly left "Rebel Ridge" for unspecified "family reasons"; about a month later, Boyega was on the set of the bank robbery thriller "Breaking," having replaced that movie's initial lead actor, Jonathan Majors. As far as I can tell, he's never publicly talked about the family issue that caused him to leave the project.

But for "Rebel Ridge" director Jeremy Saulnier, Boyega's exit was "necessary," and it led to one of the greatest instances of recasting in recent memory.

I spoke with Jeremy Saulnier for today's episode of the /Film Daily podcast. You can listen to our entire conversation below, but I began by asking him what that period of uncertainty was like when Boyega left the project but before he cast Aaron Pierre ("The Underground Railroad") in the lead role:

"We certainly faced headwinds on that version of the movie, but honestly, it just ended up for the better. Luckily, I actually cast Aaron within weeks. So we conspired, got on a Zoom together, and fell in love. He loved the project and was willing to take that leap with me. I got on the Zoom with him and knew within two minutes, 'Oh s***, this is the guy. This is our guy.' Out of respect for all involved, I won't get into the whole departure, but it was necessary, and actually there was no ill will. It was just like, oof — after the Covid shutdown, we had to shut down again. But it truly was the only version of this film I could ever realize. I saw Aaron on that Zoom and then a year later saw him on set and knew that I had struck f***ing gold."

Boyega is a very good actor (check him out in Steve McQueen's "Small Axe" if you haven't yet, and of course he's electric in his debut feature "Attack the Block"), but Pierre brings a towering physicality that adds a more interesting dynamic between his character, Terry, and the corrupt cops led by Don Johnson's character. Pierre gives a spectacular performance, and since Boyega was already something of a household name, I'm hoping the fact that "Rebel Ridge" is currently topping the Netflix charts means enough people will see his work to actually have that type of old-school, pre-streaming profile boost that actually catapults him to a much higher level of stardom.

Check out today's podcast episode below, which includes a conversation about the movie before the interview with Jeremy Saulnier:

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