John Boyega made his mark on the Star Wars saga when he co-starred in Episodes VII-IX, but he (and many fans) have expressed that they felt his character was underutilized, and his story was underwhelming. It turns out it could have been more exciting if he’d been given the chance to reveal that Finn was in fact a Jedi.
The actor revealed during a recent panel at a C2E2 event in Chicago (via /Film) what the Star Wars sequel trilogy almost did with his character. Most fans have already heard that director J.J. Abrams intended to reveal that Finn was force-sensitive, but Boyega offered up a little more info about what that moment would’ve looked like.
Finn was supposed to have this big reveal when he was sinking into quicksand on the desert planet of Pasaana. In the finished cut, Finn yells “Rey, I never told you…” but then gets sucked under the sand. He’s later rescued, but he never revisits the conversation. Boyega said of the scene:
“I mean, I did try to tell Rey before I went down. There was a couple takes where I just said it, ‘[shouts] I’m a Jedi.’ There was a couple, but it was good to tease it. I wanted to say it when they’re going down into the quicksand.”
So as it turned out, Finn is never explicitly confirmed to be a Jedi in the trilogy, which was disappointing and weird considering that one of the most memorable images from the marketing of “The Force Awakens” featured Finn holding a lightsaber.
Abrams’ initial explanation for what Finn was saying was met with skepticism from fans; many believed he was backpedaling after the backlash to the original interpretation of the quicksand scene, which was that Finn was about to confess romantic feelings for Rey.
It honestly did feel more like a confession of love, but the director and actor themselves say the intention was to give us this reveal, so I guess that must be the truth.
As for his character’s development, while he wished Finn would have been able to do more, Boyega is clear in expressing that he places none of the blame on director J.J. Abrams, who directed Episodes VII and IX.
The actor said of the director:
“I was just supportive of whatever J.J. wanted to do, being as we had so much history from ‘The Force Awakens.’ And some of the narrative about Finn that was established in ‘The Force Awakens’ were picked back up by J.J. in ‘The Rise of Skywalker.’
And it’s hard to do it. It’s hard to establish Rey and then establish another Jedi. You have to split things up with the time that you’re given. But I appreciate the little things that J.J. was doing in there.”
The future is still open to Finn’s character, considering he’s still alive, and his story after that trilogy is untapped. Boyega concluded, “I appreciate J.J. for putting those Easter eggs in there and trying to expand. So, if there is ever a revisit of Finn, there is stuff to play with.”
Would you like to see Finn’s character explored in any capacity in the future of Star Wars?
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