I just recently watched the sequel trilogy consisting of The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi and Rise of Skywalker. It got me thinking back to when Episode 7’s trailers and marketing plans were coming out.
For me, and I feel like a lot of others – they marketed the movie in a way that John Boyega’s character (later known as Finn) would be a pinnacle character during the new trilogy. To be honest, when that first trailer came out this is what it said to me;
A brand new male black lead taking the Star Wars franchise forward. A stormtrooper defecting and learning the ways of the Force to become a Jedi. That’s what I expected, and it kind of lead up that way in Episode 7.
The way Finn used the lightsaber, and even managed to stand toe to toe with Kylo Renn and actually get a strike in, albeit Kylo was injured but this is an absolute rookie in comparison to Renn.
Then, I guess, it just all went downhill from there. Now, please don’t get me wrong, John Boyega’s performance as Finn even if he was wasted was absolutely exceptional and deserves all the praise in the world, even if his character was shoved to one side.
What actually frustrates me more than anything was Rise of Skywalker. Finn was trying to tell Rey something for the entire movie. We actually never got to hear what it was;
That was that he was force sensitive. WHY?! Why do we hear about this AFTER the movie is done? This should have been said during Episode 7 and build his character alongside Rey and not as a completely separate entity.
Finn was different, and not the usual good guy we often see during these movies. He was funny, charismatic, and his ark alone with the stormtrooper background would have been a fantastic twist in turning him to a Jedi.
I do feel like had they gone down this route, the trilogy may have been done better among a lot of fans who often criticise the movies. I do like them, a lot, I always have, but I just feel like they could have done so much better.
I spoke to a lot of fans after Episode 7 who were disappointed for the same reasons I mentioned, thinking Boyega was going to be the main character going forward. That’s what the marketing campaign said to a LOT of us.
Not only that, but Star Wars also has never had a black lead and a good guy. This should have happened, for kids all around the world. When I was a kid I used to pretend I was Obi-Wan and run around the streets with a lightsaber pretending I was a Jedi.
I still see that a lot these days so adding that diversity into the actual roles themselves could have been great. Daisy did a great job as Rey and I will never take that away from her at all. The entire cast did. I just believe the writing could have been better.
What do you think? Let me know in the comments down below.
