John Boyega Wanted Star Wars: Rise Of Skywalker To Have A Stormtrooper Rebellion
Of all the missed opportunities in the "Star Wars" sequel trilogy, Finn's character arc (or lack thereof) probably stings the most. He was introduced in "The Force Awakens" as the co-protagonist, someone who'd not only be sharing equal screen time with Rey (Daisy Ridley), but who would likely end up going down the Jedi path himself.
As early as "The Last Jedi," however, it became clear that the series didn't really know what to do with him. Rey and Kylo were getting the meaty storylines that took up most of the film's attention; Finn was off on go-nowhere escapades with newcomer Rose. "Rise of Skywalker" was even worse, as poor Finn was left with little more to do except scream Rey's name a bunch of times. The movie establishes that he's force positive, which could've been interesting if not for the fact that this was the last entry in the series, and we'd probably never get to see his force powers culminate into anything interesting.
The strangest missed opportunity, however, was the lack of follow-up on Finn's stormtrooper origins. The guy kills a whole bunch of stormtroopers throughout the trilogy, but we rarely see him feel bad about any of it. Even though Finn knows better than anyone that many stormtroopers are kidnapped and brainwashed at a young age, he rarely ever feels bad about their deaths, nor does he make any substantial attempts to bring them around to the light side. Finn's actor John Boyega himself has picked up on this, remarking in a Vanity Fair interview last year, "To a certain extent, there should have been a Stormtrooper rebellion." It's easy to see his point: Such a development would've served as a wonderful full-circle moment, far more narratively satisfying than what Finn got.
Finn's mistreatment: Part of a pattern?
Boyega's had many criticisms of the sequel trilogy over the years, most of them centered on Disney's apparent inability to deal with any of its non-white characters. "What I would say to Disney is do not bring out a Black character, market them to be much more important in the franchise than they are and then have them pushed to the side. It's not good. I'll say it straight up," he told GQ in 2020. "You guys knew what to do with Daisy Ridley, you knew what to do with Adam Driver ... But when it came to Kelly Marie Tran, when it came to John Boyega, you know f** all."
It's hard to argue otherwise. Rey and Kylo's storylines still felt somewhat coherent, even if they were a little poorly handled. Their character arcs in their second movie felt like a natural continuation of their first, and their arcs in the third movie (Palpatine not-withstanding) mostly felt like a continuation of what they went through in the second.
But with Poe, Finn, and Rose, it seems clear that the creators were just winging it from movie to movie. Kelly Marie Tran suffered the most, being unceremoniously dropped from the plot of "Rise of Skywalker" and having her storyline in "The Last Jedi" rendered irrelevant to the trilogy as a whole. Disney's decision to not plan the trilogy out beforehand has had plenty of devastating consequences, but it seems like their minority characters bore the brunt of them.
Boyega today
Boyega explained that he'd continue to support Daisy Ridley and Oscar Isaac if they decided to star in more "Star Wars" movies, and even brought up the idea of directing his own "Star Wars" trilogy. "I'm casting Keke Palmer in it!" he said. "That's my first choice. I need her as a speed-racing girl from a distant planet who has some special skills." Although it seems like he was mostly joking about the idea, one can't help but wonder what that trilogy would look like. Maybe we'd get to see Finn as a new Jedi, or Finn and Rey (or Finn and Poe) finally being a couple. If Disney allowed him actual consistent control over the series (instead of switching up writers and directors with each film), things probably wouldn't turn out any worse than Disney's first "Star Wars" trilogy.
For now, though, Boyega's been happy with his recent roles in more original, grounded films. Throughout the past year or so he's starred in an unofficial trilogy of movies, "Breaking," "The Woman King," and "They Cloned Tyrone." Boyega recalled going to his team and asking, "If I were to make a trilogy, what stories would I tell? ... I'd make a trilogy of films that have nothing to do with each other. Just stories, 'Black Mirror'–style."
Although Boyega remains frustrated with the way he and his character were treated throughout the sequels, he's maintained that he's still a fan of the franchise as a whole. "Industry issues have nothing to do with 'Star Wars' and me being a fan of it ... I've been watching 'Obi-Wan,' I've been watching 'The Mandalorian.' I'm still forever going to be a fan of this franchise. As far as Finn is concerned? I'm good on that."