Can you think of a bigger pop culture crossover than Star Wars and Pokemon?
No, you cannot, but John Boyega has bloody gone there. The British actor has admitted that he’s been spending his quieter moments on the set of Star Wars: Episode VIII playing Niantic Labs’ smash hit smartphone title Pokemon Go.
We’d guess that phones are banned when the cast members are actually filming, but the mental image of Squirtle hanging out in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon is too amusing to dismiss.
Boyega, who plays reformed Stormtrooper, Finn, in the world-famous movie series, is currently shooting at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire.
But even as he prepares for one of the star roles in what will almost certainly be 2017’s most anticipated film, like everybody else his mind is well and truly fixed on Pokemon.
Asked if he had downloaded the augmented reality game by TechCrunch, the likeable 24-year-old said:
“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.”
He also praised the social nature of the game, which has in the last few days had its “Nearby” system revamped to make hunting for rare Pokemon less frustrating.
“I was in Boston a few days ago and I thought there was like a fight going on, there were so many people crowding… I was like, what’s going on? Oh, they’re just playing Pokemon. It’s great the ways technology has brought us all together. It’s a very interesting time.”
In case this has got you wondering how a Star Wars/Pokemon mashup would look, can we point you in the direction of Flickr user Tranive’s illustrations. We think you’ll agree that Bulbasaur does a pretty good Yoda impression.
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