In December 2019, “The Rise Of Skywalker” wrapped up the latest “Star Wars” trilogy, and the fan and critical response was, at best, an exasperated shrug. After Rian Johnson‘s iconoclastic take on the galaxy far, far away with “The Last Jedi,” J.J. Abrams returned to the director’s chair for “Skywalker” and made arguably the most tedious “Star Wars” film to date. Did anyone like “The Rise Of Skywalker”? Is the film even bad enough to get upset about? These are questions for another time.
In any case, even the cast of the new “Star Wars” trilogy responded to “The Rise Of Skywalker” with questions and complaints. And star John Boyega may be the most justified of them, considering how poorly his character’s arc ended up. EW reports that in a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Boyega expressed his disappointment with how his character Finn was gradually sidelined in the new trilogy. He also offered a few ideas on how “Skywalker” should have ended.
“To a certain extent, there should have been a stormtrooper rebellion,” Boyega said to Vanity Fair. “And then to flesh out Luke’s character a bit more. Give him more moments of redemption, which I feel like was needed after VIII [“The Last Jedi”].” For those who don’t remember, in “The Force Awakens,” Finn is a defected stormtrooper who joins the Resistance. Over the course of the new trilogy, Finn becomes one of the Resistance’s top leaders, but he’s also relegated to flimsier storylines. No doubt Finn leading a stormtrooper rebellion would be a fitting climax to his character arc. As for Luke’s “redemption” in “The Rise Of Skywalker,” Boyega didn’t divulge his ideas about that.
Boyega’s Finn wasn’t the only new character who received short shrift by the end of “The Rise Of Skywalker.” Oscar Isaac‘s Poe Dameron and Kelly Marie Tran‘s Rose Tico also received less screen time in the new trilogy’s final film. Boyega thinks that’s mainly due to the film’s story wanting to spend more time with characters from the original trilogy than the ones introduced in the new one. “I feel like “Star Wars” fans needed more time with those characters that we love so much,” he added. Boyega is correct on that one. Outside of Daisy Ridley‘s Rey and Adam Driver‘s Kylo Ren, the new “Star Wars” characters fell to the periphery in “The Rise Of Skywalker” and didn’t get the desired emphasis.
For all his justified criticism, Boyega remains loyal to “Star Wars” and says he’s “forever going to be a fan of the franchise.” He also keeps up with the new “Star Wars” shows on Disney+, like “The Mandalorian” and “Obi-Wan Kenobi.” And if Ridley or Isaac return for a new “Star Wars” film, he’ll go watch it in theaters. As for his time as Finn, “I’m good on that,” he says. And good on Boyega for that. He’s too talented an actor to get stuck in a role like Finn, which started with so much potential but ended up disappointing.
