Star Wars’ John Boyega has said he expected a more dramatic relationship to develop between his character Finn and Daisy Ridley’s Rey throughout the saga’s sequel trilogy — rather than the simple friendship viewers got instead.
Speaking at Fan Expo Boston, Boyega said he had picked up on hints that his character was secretly Force-sensitive from the script of his first movie in the series, The Force Awakens, and believed that this plotline would be developed further in subsequent films — before taking more of a tragic turn.
Comparing his idea for Finn and Rey’s relationship to Star Wars’ classic Obi-Wan and Darth Vader showdown, Boyega said he thought the pair were due to become antagonists — which would certainly have provided Finn with more of a story arc.
“I think I assumed he was Force-sensitive from The Force Awakens script, or at least by the time I got to the end of The Force Awakens script. I thought they were planning dual Jedis,” Boyega said (thanks, ScreenRant).
“I actually thought that they would Obi-Wan and Darth Vader us a bit,” he continued. “That we would turn against each other or something along those lines.”
Alas, this plot thread was not to be, and Finn’s nascent Jedi abilities — well, he does at least wield a lightsaber at one point — are then largely ignored. Two films later, viewers get a couple of vague hints in The Rise of Skywalker, but these also ultimately go nowhere. (Remember those bits where Finn tells Rey he has a secret, without ever actually revealing it? Yep, that’s about all we got.)
Finn is introduced as a character with a fresh perspective on the usual good-versus-evil events of the Star Wars films, being a former Imperial Stormtrooper. But beyond a rivalry with his former commander Captain Phasma (a plot thread that is swiftly wrapped up in The Last Jedi), this is largely left unexplored.
The Force Awakens sees Finn form his strongest bond with Rey, something else that gets short thrift in later movies. The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker focus Rey’s storyline squarely on her relationship to past Jedi, such as Luke, and her pairing with Kylo Ren — with whom she forms a deeper bond as their relationship to each other and both sides of the Force grows.
Boyega’s character meanwhile spends much of The Last Jedi on a side-quest to the casino city of Canto Blight alongside fellow rebel Rose — who later stops him from sacrificing himself during that film’s climactic battle.
Finn is then given even less to do in The Rise of Skywalker, which awkwardly sidelines Rose and leaves the former Stormtrooper as something of a sidekick to pilot hero Poe. Quite why Finn’s Force sensitivity is hinted at but never confirmed on-screen remains something of a mystery — with director J.J. Abrams only confirming this had indeed been the character’s secret in a subsequent interview.
Certainly, Finn never gets anything quite as dramatic to do as a showdown on a lava planet with a former friend and mentor. And while Rey is set to return in at least one future Star Wars film, it’s less clear what the future might hold for Boyega’s character, and his hopes of wielding a lightsaber once more.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
