The potential return of John Boyega as Finn to the Star Wars franchise in Rey Skywalker's New Jedi Order movie could fix three glaring mistakes committed by the sequel trilogy. At Star Wars Celebration 2023, Lucasfilm announced the franchise would soon return to the big screen for the first time since Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in 2019. President Kathleen Kennedy officially announced three new Star Wars theatrical projects: one centered on The Mandalorian era, another by James Mangold focusing on the Dawn of the Jedi, and a third that came as a delightful surprise.
The third Star Wars movie will center on Daisy Ridley's Rey Skywalker and her New Jedi Order. The film is confirmed to be set 15 years after the events of The Rise of Skywalker, directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy. With Ridley's return officially confirmed, many hoped this would also be the case for John Boyega's Finn, a character most agree was wasted in the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Despite recent comments from Boyega that he is happy with how Finn’s journey ended, recent rumors from THE HOT MIC podcast suggest Boyega's return to Star Wars is imminent, which could fix three major issues the sequel trilogy exhibited concerning his character.
3 The Star Wars Sequel Trilogy Wasted Finn & John Boyega
The sad truth is that the Star Wars sequel trilogy wasted Finn. Outside of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the sequel trilogy largely failed to provide Finn with any arc whatsoever. Arguably the biggest crime was the marketing for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, with a poster showing John Boyega's Finn wielding a lightsaber - positioning him as the central Jedi of the trilogy. This led many to buy into the idea of Finn evolving from a First Order stormtrooper to the savior of the galaxy. While Rey's subsequent arc was certainly well-written, the decision to use Finn as little more than a red herring began the wasting of his character.
After The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi at least attempted to give Finn an arc. Sending the character on an emotional journey that saw him go from someone who wants to flee from the fight to a fully-fledged Resistance soldier, The Last Jedi was arguably the peak of Finn's sequel trilogy character. However, the divisive reception to The Last Jedi - and Finn's Canto Bight journey in particular - meant that even that film was looked back on poorly when concerning Finn. The Rise of Skywalker then half-heartedly course-corrected, by making Finn a general of the Resistance with burgeoning Force capabilities.
Even still, The Rise of Skywalker rushed through Finn's arc, resulting in the entire sequel trilogy wasting the character. What makes this worse though, is the immense talent John Boyega possesses as an actor. Across all three sequel films, Boyega portrays Finn to the best of his capabilities. The clamor for Finn's return in Rey's Jedi Order movie only exemplifies this. Finn is still a fan-favorite character despite his poor writing, thanks largely to Boyega's endlessly charismatic performance. Should Boyega return as Finn in the Star Wars New Jedi Order movie, the franchise could right past wrongs by placing emphasis on the character that was lacking in the sequel trilogy.
2 Finn & Rey Had Great Chemistry, And That Shouldn't Be Wasted
There was tremendous chemistry between Rey and Finn, which was sadly wasted in the Star Wars sequel trilogy. One of the best aspects of The Force Awakens was Finn and Rey's relationship, which went from untrusting to heartwarmingly loving over the course of the movie. The back-and-forth between the two characters throughout The Force Awakens was overwhelmingly entertaining and provided Star Wars viewers with a chemistry between two leads that had been missing from the franchise since 1983 and the end of the original trilogy.
However, the story of Star Wars: The Last Jedi meant that Rey and Finn were apart for the entire movie until the final few minutes. Rey's character was pivoted towards a relationship with Adam Driver's Kylo Ren, which meant that Finn and Rey's chemistry was wasted. Should Finn return in Rey's New Jedi Order project, this could be rectified. In having Finn and Rey as the co-leads of the film, Boyega and Ridley could tap into the potential of their characters that was found in the sequels, and give fans more of the chemistry the duo exhibited in brief flashes throughout Star Wars: The Force Awakens. This doesn't necessarily mean a romance, of course; they're surely more likely to be Master and Padawan.
1 The Rise Of Skywalker Set Up Finn's Jedi Future
The final element that was wasted in regard to Finn's character was his lack of Jedi training. As mentioned, The Force Awakens marketed Finn as a Jedi character, only for the movie to pivot toward Rey instead. The Last Jedi then built on this plot point, turning Finn into one of the core foot soldiers of the Resistance against the First Order, while Rey went off for Jedi training with Mark Hamill's Luke Skywalker. This left a sour taste in many viewers' mouths, who wished to see Finn's arc from a stormtrooper to a Jedi fleshed out on the big screen.
Boyega himself criticized Star Wars' handling of Finn, complaining that marketing promoted his character before pushing a black man to the side in favor of stories for white leads. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker attempted to conduct a course correction, hinting at Finn's Force-sensitivity, but this sadly went nowhere. For some time, it's been unclear whether this would ever be rectified.
With the announcement of Rey Skywalker's Jedi Order film though, this final mistake can be fixed. Rey's New Jedi Order movie could feature the return of Finn as a Padawan, with Rey teaching him how to use the Force. This would be the third and final major mistake fixed when concerning Finn's character. Not only would it allow the chemistry between Finn and Rey to shine through, but it would fix the issue that began in late-2015 with The Force Awakens' marketing and make Finn the Jedi many wished the Star Wars sequel trilogy would explore in greater depth.
