The trilogy of Star Wars sequels produced by Disney after their purchase of Lucasfilm in the 2010s is a bit divisive, to say the least. While The Force Awakens was generally well-liked upon its release in 2015, fans were intensely split over The Last Jedi in 2017, which led to immense overcorrection with The Rise of Skywalker in 2019. The result of all of this is a Star Wars trilogy that feels at war with itself, almost as much as the fans were at war with each other over it. Characters and storylines were adjusted and re-prioritized between films, with some being dropped almost entirely from one to the next. Ultimately, the last trilogy of the Skywalker Saga just ended up feeling like a massive missed opportunity.
One of the biggest disappointments throughout the trilogy was the treatment of the character Finn and the actor hired to portray him, John Boyega. When Boyega was cast in The Force Awakens, he was an up-and-coming actor that was most well-known for his work in 2011’s Attack the Block. His involvement in Star Wars transformed Boyega into an international star pretty much overnight, and that couldn’t have happened to a more deserving and immensely talented actor. However, as the newest Star Wars trilogy continued, it became apparent that Finn wasn’t the character many had hoped he’d be. Here’s how the depiction of Finn in the Star Wars sequels failed to live up to the potential of the character and the performing abilities of Boyega.
Boyega’s Acting Chops
One of the worst parts about Finn being so underutilized in the new Star Wars films is that Boyega is one of the best actors to be found within the entire sequel trilogy. You just need to look at the actor’s output this year alone to see that. Not only did he give an excellent supporting performance as King Ghezo in The Woman King, one of the most acclaimed films of the year, but he also starred as Brian Brown-Easley in Breaking. If there was any justice in the world, the performance Boyega gave in Breaking would easily earn him an Oscar nomination, but with the way the award season is shaping up, that doesn’t seem likely at this point. Boyega also gave an outstanding performance in Kathryn Bigelow’s Detroit back in 2017, when, at the same time, he was in the midst of shooting for Star Wars as well. He also received acclaim in 2020 for his performance as Leroy Logan in the Steve McQueen-directed anthology series Small Axe.
Across his filmography, Boyega has shown that he has the acting chops to portray all sorts of nuanced and complex characters. This has become increasingly apparent in the years since he was in Star Wars. He has begun to really push himself to take on stronger characters that are more of a challenge for an actor and provide more room for growth. The creatives behind the new Star Wars trilogy didn’t seem to recognize the talent they had in Boyega. Finn, especially in The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker, was consistently relegated to a side role with typically less-than-stellar dialogue. Boyega could have brought a lot of dramatic weight to the new trilogy of Star Wars films. While he certainly did his best with the material that was presented to him, Finn just never became the kind of character that an actor could really delve into.
Who Finn Was Marketed As
Across all three films in the new Star Wars trilogy, Finn was often billed as a main character. This was especially true in the marketing for The Force Awakens. The trailers, posters and just advertising for Episode VII overall were working hard to sell Finn as, at the very least, the co-lead character of the film. Not much detail was given about his character in the marketing for the movie, as not much plot of the movie was given at all, but what was shown of the character made Finn out to be the new main hero for audiences to fall in love with. This would’ve been a big deal, as Boyega would’ve been the first Black actor to play the lead role in a Star Wars film. While there had certainly been characters of color in Star Wars before, they had never been the central protagonist of the story. To have Boyega be the star of the movie would have been an exciting landmark in terms of the representation of BIPOC communities in major studio blockbusters.
Across nearly all the marketing, Finn was very directly made out to be the new Jedi character of this trilogy. He was the first character to appear on-screen in the debut teaser trailer for the film, and he was shown wielding the iconic blue lightsaber of Luke Skywalker in nearly all the advertising that followed. He was wielding that lightsaber in all the trailers, posters, toys, and just about everything else. The implication of that advertising, especially with a movie as secretive as The Force Awakens, was, seemed to be clear that Finn was going to be a Jedi. This was immensely exciting for a lot of people, as those who knew Boyega’s talents were aware of the depth that he could bring to a new lead character like that.
The Role Finn Actually Played
Unfortunately, that’s not what happened. While Boyega’s role in The Force Awakens was undoubtedly that of one of the chief supporting characters, it felt like there had been a bit of a bait-and-switch in the marketing when it turned out that Daisy Ridley’s Rey was actually the lead of the movie. Finn did end up wielding Luke’s lightsaber on a couple of occasions, but it was only after Rey had denied it. He wasn't an aspiring Jedi; rather just someone who managed to wield a lightsaber by happenstance. Still, even with Finn as a supporting character rather than the lead, The Force Awakens did a pretty good job of building him into an interesting character with lots of room to grow over the next two films.
It was over the next two films, however, that the Star Wars films really started to do Finn and Boyega dirty. Though the lightsaber in The Force Awakens hadn’t been Finn’s, he was shown to have some skills in wielding it. This can primarily be seen through his fight against Kylo Ren, with whom he was able to hold his own longer than most people would have. But, starting in The Last Jedi, it was clear that the creatives behind the films had no interest in actually making Finn into a Jedi at all. His character development in Episode VII was almost entirely thrown out the window in VIII, and he was made to be more of a generic rebel rather than a compelling First Order-deserting Jedi. What made matters worse in Episode IX was the fact that J.J. Abrams even directly teed up Finn being force-sensitive, only to drop the matter entirely before doing anything meaningful with it.
Episodes VIII and IX completely fumbled the character of Finn. Boyega has even acknowledged how sidelined his character was in the latter chapters of the trilogy. After The Force Awakens, there seemed to be a clear and exciting story for the character to follow. Fans hoped that he would continue his journey away from the First Order and perhaps train to become a Jedi alongside Rey. It’s fine that they decided not to go that route with the character, but the two following films just couldn’t figure out what to do with him at all. He turned into a by-the-numbers side character that just spent most of his time pining after Rey. Finn started out as one of the most unique characters in Episode VII, before quickly devolving into one of the most uninteresting characters of the trilogy.