While the Resistance fleet was being very (very) slowly picked off , Finn and Rose took to a shuttle and travelled from the southern Outer Rim near D’Qar, north through Hutt space, across the Tion and the Perlemian Trade Route, beyond the north-eastern edges of the Outer Rim and into the Corporate Sector. That journey could have been distinctly different as early versions of the script had best buddys Finn and Poe take on the mission.

As part of a Collider Q&A, Rian Johnson discussed this and other matters, and writing for Nerdist, Amy Ratcliffe summarised the event.

It’s been over a month since the release of The Last Jedi, but that doesn’t stop us from jumping onto any crumb of information that drops: such as the idea of Poe going to Canto Bight with Finn instead of Rose. Episode VIII writer and director Rian Johnson shared that note from an early draft of the film in The Art of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Ultimately, he realized the duo didn’t have any conflict so “it was just these two dudes on an adventure.”