Finn And Poe Aren't Boyfriends, But 'Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker' Still Might Have LGBTQ Representation
As soon as John Boyega's Finn and Oscar Isaac's Poe Dameron locked eyes in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the chemistry was apparent — especially to the hundreds of shippers who affectionally named the unofficial couple FinnPoe (or in some cases, StormPilot). But despite the support for the pairing from both Boyega and Isaac, it seems that FinnPoe is sadly not meant to be.
In Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the third and final film of the new Star Wars trilogy, Finn and Poe won't have a relationship further than "platonic" friends, Boyega and Isaac confirmed. However, all hope is not lost. Director J.J. Abrams hinted that there may be a chance of Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker LGBT representation — just not with FinnPoe.
At the Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker press junket on Tuesday, Boyega and Isaac confirmed to Variety that Finn and Poe are just friends, despite their own personal support for the characters to become a couple:
"They've always had a quite loving and open relationship in which it wouldn't be too weird if it went beyond it," Boyega said. "But at the same time, they are just platonic at the moment."
"Personally, I kind of hoped and wished that maybe that would've been taken further in the other films, but I don't have control," Isaac added. "It seemed like a natural progression, but sadly enough it's a time when people are too afraid, I think, of...I don't know what."
But Abrams said that Finn and Poe's relationship in The Rise of Skywalker "is a far deeper one than a romantic one. It is a deep bond that these two have, not just because of the trial by fire in which they met, but also because of their willingness to be as intimate as they are, as afraid as they, as unsure as they are, and still be bold, and still be daring and brave."
Isaac said that fans can still have fun with the characters thanks to the "ambiguity" of their relationship. So don't throw away your FinnPoe fan art yet. But even if FinnPoe will never be official, there may be hope of real LGBTQ representation in the film. Abrams told Variety that he's always strived to find a cast for Star Wars that "looked more the way the world looks than not."
"And in the case of the LGBTQ community, it was important to me that people who go to see this movie feel that they're being represented in the film," Abrams said.
It's not official confirmation that there will be an LGBTQ character in The Rise of Skywalker, but that does give hope to fans disappointed that Finn and Poe won't be the first major canonically LGBT Star Wars couple. A new hope, you might say.