The first image in the first trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens is John Boyega in a Stormtrooper uniform. From that moment forward we knew this was going to be a very different Star Wars film than the ones we were used to. Not only do we have a more diverse cast, but a more diverse cast of characters as well. According to star John Boyega, it was his unique, and utterly unlikely character that drew him to the role in the first place.
In the history of Star Wars the Stormtroopers have always been nameless, faceless characters. They have numbers, not names. They’re completely interchangeable. The fact that one of the men underneath those helmets is one of the new movie’s primary characters feels strange to a lot of people. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Boyega says that’s exactly what he loves about him.
Finn isn't a guy you would expect to be involved in this story. The fact that he's a Stormtrooper. We don't [usually] go into [Stormtroopers'] pasts or lives much: how the dynamics work for them, how they were recruited — we don't ever really see much about the past there. It was interesting to me to have that kind of character.
These new films are doing quite a bit to put human faces on The First Order’s army, even if we’re not sure how many actual faces we’ll see beyond Boyega himself. While the previous films have established the Stormtroopers as clones, so they probably didn’t have much in the way of motivation or backstory, that won’t be the case here. Finn is a person who made the choice to join the First Order’s legion of soldiers but then decides that it’s not the right place for him. Who exactly takes that path, and why? These are questions we will be getting at least some answers to. Check out more of his interview below.
So much of the Star Wars saga is based around characters with destinies who are supposed to be fulfilling prophecies. Finn at least appears to be the opposite of that. He’s a single cog in a machine who isn’t all that much different from the rest of the cogs, but he makes decisions that result in him becoming part of this grander adventure.
We’re looking forward to learning more about Finn, Stormtroopers, and unlikely heroes when The Force Awakens finally gets to theaters on December 18, which is still too damn far away.
