In 2021, John Boyega abruptly quit Jeremy Saulnier‘s ‘Rebel Ridge’. Boyega claimed that he exited the Netflix production “for family reasons”. However, the filming crew revealed that Boyega had checked out of his hotel without notice. Although Aaron Pierre soon replaced Boyega in the role, the filming was postponed until next year.
‘Rebel Ridge’ was released on 6 September 2024. The thriller-action is led by Aaron Boyega as ex-Marine, Terry Richmond. The ‘Green Room‘ director revealed that he was inspired by the 1982 film ‘First Blood‘ and Michael Clayton when making the film. Saulnier stated that Aaron was a perfect cast for the film. Here’s how the casting went.
Why Did John Boyega Quit ‘Rebel Ridge’?
‘Star Wars‘ actor John Boyega was cast as the lead of Jeremy Saulnier’s ‘Rebel Ridge’. However, the actor quit the role of Terry Richmond in the middle of filming. The Hollywood Reporter claimed that the filming crew only realized his exit when they found Boyega had checked out from the hotel. A plethora of reasons were stated for Boyega’s sudden exit, from script to lodging.
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With a large budget of $25 million, naturally, the production was in an upheaval. Finding a replacement on such short notice seemed impossible and talks of canceling the film altogether were rumored.
However, Saulnier happened to stumble upon casting Aaron by chance and it worked out smoothly. Talking with GQ, Saulnier stated, “I could feel he could handle the complexity just from this one scene that I watched.”
“He Had The Presence I Needed”: Jeremy Saulnier On Casting Aaron Pierre
Jeremy Saulnier, along with the entire filming crew, met with an unfathomable fix as their lead suddenly quit filming. However, the ‘Murder Party’ director did not want to move forward with a quick re-casting by compromising his vision.
He stated, “I’d rather have shelved the movie than move forward without the perfect version of Terry Richmond.” Saulnier’s wife, Skei Saulnier, gave the director the idea to cast Aaron Pierre.
He related, “My wife was like, “Hey, check out this guy on Underground Railroad.” I literally watched four minutes of one episode of Barry Jenkins’ limited series, saw Aaron Pierre, and said, “OK.”
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Saulnier continued, “When I got on Zoom with him the very next day, I knew under two minutes that he was the guy who would be getting my offer.” Saulnier’s vision was saved. He stated, “He had the presence I needed. He had this quiet intellect. I could feel he could handle the complexity just from this one scene that I watched.”
