Beloved Star Wars Actor’s Return Could Fix The Stupidest Thing About The Rise Of Skywalker

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 13 seconds ago

In the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, nobody was done dirtier than John Boyega. Ahead of The Force Awakens, he was teased as the franchise’s newest Jedi, but this was a bait-and-switch: Rey became a Jedi, and Finn became nothing more than comic relief. He was later given the absolutely stupidest plot from The Last Jedi, complete with a new love interest who disappears after this film. In The Rise of Skywalker, Finn has become so unimportant that his plot is left incomplete, and we never learn what deep secret he was about to confess to Rey. 

For these reasons and more, I was excited to learn that John Boyega is likely to return to the Star Wars universe. Previously, the actor had boldly claimed he had no intention of returning to the franchise, which is understandable. Why give Disney a third chance to waste his talents? Now that he seems likely to return to the fold, though, Finn may be able to finally finish his arc. You see, the secret he was going to confess to Rey was that he was actually a Jedi!

Somehow, Finn Returned?

There have been rumors about John Boyega returning to Star Wars ever since the end of The Rise of Skywalker. Early on, he did his best to get ahead of those rumors with a pre-emptive answer. When Variety asked in 2019 whether he would be returning to this famous galaxy far, far away, the actor bluntly (and hilariously) replied, “You ain’t gonna Disney+ me!” After watching Disney mishandle his character for three consecutive movies, Boyega seemed understandably checked out of the franchise that made him a household name and never wanted to return.

However, as the late Sean Connery might have reminded the younger man, “never say never again.” Rumors have been intensifying that Boyega would be returning to Star Wars, and these rumors reached a fever pitch when the actor confirmed he had run into Lucasfilm president Dave Filoni. Now, reliable scooper Daniel Richtman is reporting that Boyega has begun official discussions to return to the franchise, though it’s not clear whether this would be in the form of movies, TV shows, or both. They might Disney+ him and give Boyega his own series, or (with his luck) he might end up a sidekick in the long-rumored Rey movie.

There Is Another

However Finn pops back up in Star Wars, I just want to see his intended story play out. In The Rise of Skywalker, when his character is getting sucked into some sand (it gets everywhere, you know), Boyega says “Rey, I never told you…” before getting cut off. At the time, many fans thought he was going to confess his love to the Jedi warrior he had crushed so hard on in The Force Awakens. But Boyega later confirmed something much wilder: the rest of the line was “I’m a Jedi,” confirming he can use the Force. Despite saying the line during filming, it was ultimately cut. 

Cutting the line was arguably for the best. The Rise of Skywalker was such a cluttered mess of a movie that there wouldn’t have been time to properly develop this exciting new story for Finn. Still, it’s hard not to feel like Star Wars did John Boyega dirty yet again. Actually making his character into a Jedi would have partially made up for only teasing his Force-sensitive nature back in The Force Awakens. But by cutting the line entirely, JJ Abrams buried the only really cool thing to happen to Finn in the entire trilogy. 

Head Towards The Light (Saber)

Now, a new Star Wars movie or show featuring John Boyega can finally rectify that mistake by showing Finn as a Jedi. If he pops up in a movie with Rey, she could help him learn the ways of the Force as they fight the last of the First Order. If it’s a show, maybe Finn could use the Force to help other former Stormtroopers see the light. No matter how it’s handled, a Jedi storyline could finally give John Boyega’s character a proper arc and fix the stupidest thing about The Rise of Skywalker by following up on that cut line. 

Now, will the return of Finn magically make the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy any better? Let’s be honest, y’all: not even the Force could do that!