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Star Wars: John Boyega Criticizes J.J. Abrams for Forcing Finn's Jedi Arc


Finn
Credit: Lucasfilm

We all know for a fact that John Boyega has been outspoken about his true feelings towards Disney and Lucasfilm and how his character was mishandled in the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Three years following the conclusion of the Skywalker saga, the British-Nigerian actor has once again been dishing out behind-the-scenes stuff from the polarizing trilogy that most fans are probably only hearing for the first time.

Finn
click to enlarge
Credit: Lucasfilm


Finn's character arc has always been one of Boyega's gripes when it came to the sequels and he's aired his grievances on multiple occasions. Now, Boyega is criticizing director J.J. Abrams, claiming that he forced his character's Jedi arc in The Rise of Skywalker which to him felt inorganic from the get-go.

If you may recall, The Force Awakens teased Finn's potential Jedi route during his brief duel with Kylo Ren. It never came into fruition though as The Rise of Skywalker simply revealed that he's a Force-sensitive being. Despite fans being on board with the idea of Finn eventually being revealed as a Jedi later in the trilogy, Boyega's latest statement seems to imply that he was never a fan of it.

Speaking with MTV's Josh Horowitz, Boyega claims that Abrams insisted on going with his initial plans for the character, despite The Last Jedi making some changes. He said: "It was a discussion from VII that was kind of brewing, because you didn’t know which way it was gonna go, right? And then VIII went in another direction. So I think with VIII going in another direction, when you’re bringing someone to the third, they have to kind of like appreciate what’s happened in VIII and then still try and make a narrative of it. And JJ [Abrams], I mean JJ really wanted– Force Awakens is the movie that JJ directed, he was kind of pinpoint plotting a trajectory. But obviously with the different creative differences in the middle and then getting to the third, it’s kind of like he still wanted to you know just force it in there, just squeeze it in there."

Also Read: John Boyega Says His Issues with Lucasfilm Didn't Kill His Love For Star Wars

I totally get where Boyega is coming from because giving Finn the same arc as Rey would have made things a little redundant. But with how fans reacted to the sequels, I guess making Finn a Jedi was the right call after all and it could have given the critics someone to root for.


Disney's Star Wars sequel trilogy is available for streaming exclusively on Disney+.

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