Speaking with Yahoo movies, John Boyega was asked about Finn’s role in the Colin Trevorrow draft of Episode IX – Star Wars: Duel of the Fates – back when the Jurassic World director was writing and directing the final Skywalker Saga episode before stepping down, to be replaced by J.J. Abrams.
Referring to one of the most vivid concept pieces for Duel of the Fates, showing Finn leading a resistance charge against the forces of darkness, Boyega looked at how differently Finn’s story could have spun out in the final episode.
“I think Colin Trevorrow was going to tell that story,” Boyega says now, acknowledging that he’s seen — and loved — the unused concept art for Duel of the Fates. “That image of Finn with the blue flag, and you have the AT-ATs lined up with tribal marks, and the stormtroopers take off their helmets. That would have been sick! That would have been dope, man, hands down.”
Not for nothing, but that image of Finn carrying the blue flag is precisely the kind of big damn hero moment that Boyega felt was missing from The Rise of Skywalker, and one of the reasons he spoke up in the first place about the way the series sidelined its first Black hero since Lando Calrissian. “I felt it was important for me to talk about a truth that is embarrassing to talk about,” he says. “We all know that what makes roles so lucrative [are] the moments you give them. If Captain America isn’t given the scenes to boost his representation, and to make him enjoyable for you guys, we won’t think he’s cool. Why shouldn’t Black characters and Black actors also fight for that same kind of representation? I think it’s a done deal with that.”
Of course, whenever Boyega speaks his truth about Star Wars, he’s accustomed to hearing from online trolls who accuse him of not being “grateful” enough for being part of the world’s most popular franchise. After jokingly blaming his twin, “John Voyega” for routinely sparking controversy, the actor illustrates how he shakes off that kind of toxic fandom. “No one ever assumes the right thing of you — they’re always going to assume the most negative,” he notes. “If you’re saying something like that, it’s ‘He’s just trying to be prominent!’ Yeah, because I’m trying to do what I was offered! I’m trying to fulfill my job.”
