Disney and Lucasfilm are currently crafting the next era of Star Wars following a grand finale to the Skywalker Saga in late 2019 with The Rise of Skywalker. Although the studios seem to have closed the book on the main characters from the Sequel Trilogy, including Daisy Ridley’s Rey, Oscar Isaac’s Poe and John Boyega’s Finn, we can’t exactly be convinced of complete finality forever. Han Solo, Luke and Leia certainly came back over 30 years after Return of the Jedi, so who’s to say the same couldn't happen with these newer leads?
There’s still clearly interest in the continuation of the storylines established in The Rise of Skywalker over a year after its conclusion. A clip of John Boyega sharing his thoughts on returning to Finn one day recently made its rounds online from a 2020 interview with none other than CinemaBlend’s ReelBlend co-host Jake Hamilton. Here’s what Boyega said about going back to play Finn at the time:
I'm open to the conversation as long as it is Kathleen, J.J. [Abrams] and maybe someone else [on their] team. It's a no-brainer.
John Boyega and Jake Hamilton caught up just in time for Star Wars Day 2020 at the height of quarantine. During the interview, Hamilton asked the actor if he’d be interested in continuing his role in Star Wars thirty years down the line following starring in the recent trilogy. Boyega shared how much he “loved” the experience despite feeling some disappointment he has been public about, along with saying this:
My generation of actors are not the same as the generation of actors that came before us who painted the whole experience to always be perfect. The same way your job ain’t perfect shit, mine ain’t. Just having that relationship and being able to express that to the fans has been something to me that has been a major deal in being a part of this. [If I came back] I’d be thinking about them, I’d be thinking about the fans, I’d be thinking about what they’d want to see. This time, I’m sorry I’d just be a bit more adamant about story. And I think everyone would, even Oscar, even Daisy. Everyone would kind of be like, if we’re coming back hopefully the story is worth coming back or maybe there are some new characters that we help and we visit.
One major criticism that has been part of the conversation following The Rise of Skywalker is the weaving storyline of its characters and rumored retcon of storylines between J.J. Abrams and Rian Johnson’s own visions in their movies. John Boyega’s own experience became cloudy when his character was left with an open-ended conclusion. We never learned on screen what Finn needed to tell Rey, and the actor became vocal about being yet another sidelined BIPOC character.
Sure, J.J. Abrams clarified following the release of The Rise of Skywalker that it was indeed about his connections to the Force, but it’s kind of a bummer that John Boyega’s character did not get a complete arc in the trilogy itself. For the moment, Boyega and his cast-mates are stepping away from the franchise to play different characters, such as Boyega's coming return to Attack the Block, but years from now. we could him returning to flesh out the loose ends for a continuation of some sort.
Until then, there’s a lot to look forward to in terms of a galaxy far, far away. Check out what Star Wars movies and TV shows are coming in the near future here on CinemaBlend.
