'Family reasons' prompt John Boyega's departure from Netflix's 'Rebel Ridge'

June 4 (UPI) -- Star Wars and Small Axe actor John Boyega has left the production of Netflix's movie, Rebel Ridge, a month into filming.

"Rebel Ridge is pausing temporarily as we look to re-cast John Boyega who needed to leave the project for family reasons," a Netflix representative said in a statement Thursday.

"We remain committed to Jeremy Saulnier's extraordinary film and look forward to resuming production. We look forward to continuing our partnership with John Boyega's UpperRoom Productions, in addition to our upcoming film They Cloned Tyrone in which he also stars."

British actor Boyega, who played the lead in the project, has not publicly commented on his exit.

Filming began in Louisiana May 3. The cast also includes AnnaSophia Robb, Emory Cohen, Don Johnson, James Cromwell, James Badge Dale, Zsane Jhe and Al Vicente.