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Disney using Baby Yoda as distraction say fans to drown out John Boyega's criticism of 'Star Wars' POC roles

Fans could not help notice that #Mandalorian was trending alongside because soon after Boyega's interview gained attention, Disney announced that Season 2 of 'The Mandalorian’ would air in October

John Boyega's controversial interview calling out Disney for sidelining POC characters in the 'Star Wars' movie franchise had him trending on Twitter. But fans could not help notice that #mandalorian was trending alongside because soon after Boyega's interview gained attention, Disney announced that Season 2 of 'The Mandalorian’ would air in October.

Most fans felt that the timing of Disney's announcement was no coincidence and was a PR tactic to drown out the negative publicity with positive news from the brand. One tweet said: "John Boyega: 'calls out Disney out for the way they treated him as a Black actor and character' Disney, five minutes later: hey look Baby Yoda."

Other tweets followed in the same vein, accusing Disney of trying to brush under the carpet its treatment of Black and POC characters. "john boyega bravely said 'star wars has fallen woefully short and failed its actors of color' and disney really responded with 'hey everyone but its okay look at baby yoda he is green'"

Disney's brand, off-late, has been working hard to address the racist undertones in their old content on Disney Plus and their theme parks, for instance, its 1946's 'Song of the South', or characters like "Jim Crow" in Dumbo. But with John Boyega's GQ interview, the strain on the brand will grow and reduce goodwill at this critical juncture where the entire entertainment industry is having to face up to the systemic racism embedded within its structures of power. This was already on view in some tweets, like this one: "The Devil works hard but Disney works harder when their Mouse House monopoly is threatened. They aint sh*t for trying to silence John Boyega and his valid criticisms with this baby Yoda nonsense."

Others felt Disney was ignoring what John Boyega was saying by misusing the goodwill generated by 'The Mandalorian'. A user wrote, "do you pronounce it 'disney posting the release date of the mandalorian' or 'disney trying to ignore what john boyega said'?"

Replying to this tweet, another user screenshotted parts of Boyega's controversial interview where he talks about how the White characters character arcs had nuance whereas the POC characters played by him and Kelly Marie Tran were given the short shrift and commented: "I mean SERIOUSLY. So many important points being made here. The new trilogy screwed the BIPOC cast members and I for one am still pissed about it. It is possible [to] love a series and still be critical of its failings."

Other fans chimed in about what they felt was a tactic to distract fans. One user expressed his ire saying: "If the Mando S2 trailer does not drop today, then I am convinced the timing of this tweet was to solely divert attention away from John Boyega’s interview in which he rightfully criticizes Star Wars/the entertainment industry while talking about his own experiences disgusting"

Others commented that Disney, intentionally or not, had silenced his voice yet again with their announcement. One tweet stated: "And just like that, the John Boyega trending topic slips beneath 'The Mandalorian' and googling Star Wars is a lot of Baby Yoda, Baby Yoda, Baby Yoda. Coincidence or not, they silenced him today."

The controversy and their handling of Boyega's allegations could, potentially, have a negative effect on their next big release 'Mulan' with a POC in the lead. After pushing the release of the $200 million, live-action remake of the popular animated adaptation of the Chinese legend twice, Disney has opted to release the film as a "premium" Video on Demand (PVOD) for around $30 and that has already irked fans.