Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Star Wars: The Last Jedi!
The friendship between Finn and Rey is very much at the core of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and what drives it. So it wouldn't have been foolish to assume that the two would meet back up by the middle of Star Wars: The Last Jedi to continue their adventures. But that is not what happened. Rey and Finn are separated until the very end of the film when they reunite as two of the last members of the Resistance. But as stressful as the separation was for the characters, whose lives turned upside down upon meeting each other, it was also stressful for the actors. Learning that he would not be having scenes with Daisy Ridley was worrisome for John Boyega, as he explained.
Yes, it was troubling and worrying. Because we went through a process together and we just expected to be together in this part of the franchise. And to find out we would be separated; my heart started beating a little bit. Because we have this support system and being in this position, me and Daisy, we vibe, we understand each other. We've been through the same process of first of all you're doing Morrison adverts and then the next year, you're in Star Wars. So, it's a surprising thing.
It might be easy to forget this fact now after two films, billions of dollars and a whirlwind of stardom later, but Daisy Ridley and John Boyega were relative unknowns prior to Star Wars: The Force Awakens. John Boyega's biggest credit was Attack The Block, but that is nothing even remotely close to the blockbuster level of Star Wars. So when he joined this franchise,, it was likely a bit overwhelming. We've seen this recently when his co-star Kelly Marie Tran was overcome by the moment at The Last Jedi premiere. Starting this journey together with a fellow unknown, who was also new to the experience, had to be quite comforting. John Boyega and Daisy Ridley likely saw themselves as each other's anchor. They could probably rely on one another as a support system to help get through media obligations and their time on set. Having an actor standing across from you who is coming from a similar place and understands what you are going through has to help ground you and put you at ease.
Having that familiar and comforting presence stripped away by the story was an unexpected and worrisome plot point for John Boyega as he said at the recent BAFTA Q&A for the film. Fortunately, he had Kelly Marie Tran to work with, who was probably going through a similar experience as he did on The Force Awakens. As for Daisy Ridley, who also expressed worry about being split up from her co-star, she had veteran Mark Hamill to work with this time around. These two pairings were highlights of the film and we learned a lot about the characters by seeing them put in difficult situations with new characters. This film has challenged our views on Star Wars and taken people out of their comfort zones, and it seems that extended to the actors as well.
The end of The Last Jedi was wide open with some obvious plot threads to wrap up, but fewer questions than The Force Awakens left us with. With Rose in the picture and a possible Rey/Poe romance being teased, the two heroes of The Force Awakens could continue to carry out separate objectives in the saga closer. It would be fun to see John Boyega and Daisy Ridley's characters have some more screen time together in Episode IX, but we're almost two years away from even the slightest hints at where the story will go. For all the latest movies news from a galaxy far, far away and otherwise, keep it tuned to CinemaBlend.
