Pokémon Go and Star Wars Collide: John Boyega (Finn) Caught a Pikachu While Filming Episode VIII

You knew it had to happen eventually…it just couldn’t be avoided. The juggernaut that is Pokémon Go has finally collided with the greatest franchise in the galaxy, Star Wars. Here’s how…

Star Wars: The Force Awakens breakout actor, John Boyega, who portrays the former First Order stormtrooper turned loyal friend to Daisy Ridley’s Rey, and now Resistance fighter, Finn, talked to website Tech Crunch about, tech stuff, cyber-bullying, and among other things: Playing Pokémon Go while filming Star Wars: Episode VIII, and actually catching a Pikachu.

"“I do have the app. Currently at level 5, CP levels are looking good. I found a Pikachu at Pinewood Studios while filming Star Wars. I told EVERYBODY. “I got a Pikachu!” I was the most popular kid on set for like a day.”"

Honestly, as I have never played any version of Pokémon, let alone Pokémon Go, I don’t really know what Boyega’s talking about, with regards to “CP levels,” but I will tell you this: John Boyega continues to cement his status as one of my favorite new actors in the Star Wars franchise.

Regardless of the game he was playing while filming Star Wars: Episode VIII, he was still playing a game while filming Star Wars: Episode VIII, and I totally dig that about him!

Boyega was asked about what kind of tech we would like to see improved on set, during the filming of Star Wars: Episode VIII, and he talked about the pre-vis technology of motion capture acting:

"Right now we’re at a good point where we can have an actor in a scene with a green screen, and probably like a physical representation of a beast or creature with pinpoints for mocap — that can then go onto a computer in a second and you can actually watch the shot as it would be on the screen. But it’s rough pre-vis, and I would love to see that with a little bit more accuracy to what you would have at the end."

Next: Rogue One: Riz Ahmed Talks His Character, Bodhi Rook

Could we be seeing Boyega’s Finn interacting with even more alien creatures in Star Wars: Episode VIII? Regardless, John Boyega is a fantastic actor, and human being, and I for one am glad he’s part of the Star Wars franchise. Now I guess, he just needs to work on catching them all, before filming for Star Wars: Episode IX starts.