John Boyega's Finn May Return To Star Wars - Here's Why That's Shocking

A certain character may be making his return to a galaxy far, far away. Or, at the very least, the door is open for the first time in a long time. The character in question is Finn, played by John Boyega in the "Star Wars" sequel trilogy. Making his debut in 2015's "The Force Awakens" as a Stormtrooper named FN-2817, Finn was a huge part of the initial phase of the Disney era of the franchise. Tom Cruise was actually indirectly responsible for Boyega's casting. However, things went sour between the actor and Disney, but it appears that things have changed.

Appearing at Megacon in Orlando, the actor was asked about potentially reprising his role as Finn, as has happened several times at cons in the years since "The Rise of Skywalker" came out in 2019. One audience member at his panel reportedly shouted, "Get Dave [Filoni] on the phone." Boyega then replied, "I actually have, actually" (via ScreenRant).

Kathleen Kennedy recently stepped down as President of Lucasfilm. Lucasfilm now has new leadership guiding the "Star Wars" franchise. The aforementioned Dave Filoni, the mastermind behind "The Clone Wars" and former Lucasfilm Chief Creative Officer, now serves as the head of creative for the entire company, co-heading the studio alongside Lynwen Brennan, the former President and General Manager of Lucasfilm Business. She's handling the executive side of things.

Without diving too far into speculation territory, did Kennedy's stepping down have something to do with this apparent conversation between Filoni and Boyega? It marks a stunning turn of events as Boyega previously said he wouldn't return to "Star Wars." The actor said, "At this point I'm cool off it. I'm good off it" in 2022, adding, "I feel like '[Episode] VII' to '[Episode] IX' was good for me."

Those are far from the only comments that John Boyega has made over the years. In 2020, Boyega got brutally honest about his "Star Wars" experience, saying, among other things, "Do not bring out a Black character, market them to be much more important in the franchise than they are, and then have them pushed to the side."

The actor later met with Disney about his issues, but still had no interest in returning, at least publicly. More recently, Boyega called out the "Star Wars" sequels over their biggest mistakes, as he saw them. Namely, killing off characters like Han Solo and Luke Skywalker. The actor's issues extend beyond how Finn was handled. Though it's also worth noting that the original plans for Finn in the "Star Wars" sequel trilogy changed, particularly after J.J. Abrams took over directing Episode IX, which became "The Rise of Skywalker," from Colin Trevorrow.

All of this to say, Boyega having even a conversation about a possible return to the franchise is a big deal. There are logical places where Finn could show up if the two sides could come to an understanding. It's already been confirmed that next year's "Star Wars: Starfighter" won't feature any legacy characters, but there are other options.

"The Mandalorian and Grogu" arrives this summer, but that seems very unlikely. Daisy Ridley is set to return as Rey in a new movie, which is the most obvious option. Simon Kinberg is also working on a new trilogy that may take place after the events of the sequel trilogy. What's clear is that we may not have seen the last of Finn. We'll see where the chips fall.

"The Mandalorian and Grogu" hits theaters on May 22, 2026.