John Boyega Reveals A Cut Star Wars Scene That Confirmed Finn As A Jedi

At a recent panel at a C2E2 event in Chicago, John Boyega shed some extra light on what the "Star Wars" sequel trilogy almost did with his character Finn. Most fans have already heard that director J.J. Abrams intended to reveal that Finn was force-sensitive, but Boyega offered up a little more info about what that moment would've looked like. Finn was supposed to have this big reveal when he was sinking into quicksand on the desert planet of Pasaana. In the finished cut, Finn yells "Rey, I never told you..." but then gets sucked under the sand. He's later rescued, but never explains what he was going to say. But as Boyega put it:

"I mean, I did try to tell Rey before I went down. There was a couple takes where I just said it, '[shouts] I'm a Jedi.' There was a couple, but it was good to tease it. I wanted to say it when they're going down into the quicksand."

Unfortunately, Finn is never explicitly confirmed to have Jedi potential in the sequel trilogy, which was disappointing considering that one of the most memorable images from the marketing of "The Force Awakens" featured Finn holding a lightsaber. It didn't help that Abrams' initial explanation for what Finn was saying was met with skepticism from fans; many believed he was backpedaling after the backlash to the original interpretation of the quicksand scene, which was that Finn was about to say something romantic to Rey. 

Casting further fan doubt on Abrams' interview reveal is that this doesn't seem like the sort of secret Finn would be so shy about it. His love for a friend is the sort of thing one might want to suddenly confess in their final moments; "I'm a Jedi," meanwhile, is less of a vulnerable secret and more of a cool brag. But if Boyega himself is confirming that this was what Finn was trying to say, that should pretty much settle the matter. 

Although Boyega has often expressed disappointment with how Finn's storyline played out in the trilogy, it seems like he places most of the blame for this on "The Last Jedi," the only movie in the trilogy not directed by Abrams. Boyega explained, "'Rise of Skywalker,' I had a brilliant time. But I knew because of the structure change from 'The Last Jedi,' it was really tough on J.J. to come back and tie everything together." He later added: 

"I was just supportive of whatever J.J. wanted to do, being as we had so much history from 'The Force Awakens.' And some of the narrative about Finn that was established in 'The Force Awakens' were picked back up by J.J. in 'The Rise of Skywalker.' And it's hard to do it. It's hard to establish Rey and then establish another Jedi. You have to split things up with the time that you're given. But I appreciate the little things that J.J. was doing in there."

The bright side for Boyega is that there are still endless possibilities for Finn's character. He's still alive, after all, and unlike the prequel characters, we don't know much about what happens to him later in life. Finn may have been stuck yelling after Rey for most of the third movie, but for the rest of his life he can do whatever he wants. As Boyega concluded, "I appreciate J.J. for putting those Easter eggs in there and trying to expand. So, if there is ever a revisit of Finn, there is stuff to play with."