John Boyega reacts to Finn's scrapped Star Wars 9 arc

(Image credit: Disney/Lucasfilm)

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker certainly underwent some pretty major changes before it was released last December – not least of all, director J.J. Abrams being drafted in to replace Colin Trevorrow. That, in turn, led to a completely different direction for the end of the Skywalker Saga. What was once Duel of the Fates (featuring Luke Skywalker haunting Kylo Ren) became something else entirely.

That script included a very different arc for John Boyega’s Finn. Scrapped Episode 9 concept art revealed the former First Order Stormtrooper leading a rebellion, something that didn’t come to pass in Rise of Skywalker.

In a recent interview with Yahoo, Boyega was asked about that story seemingly being curtailed. Would he have preferred it to go that way instead of what we ended up with?

“I do actually. I think Colin Trevorrow was going to tell that story," he said. "The concept art in the Star Wars book has the image of Finn with the blue flag and the AT-ATs and they have them lined up in tribal marks and the Stormtroopers take off their helmets. That would’ve been sick. That would’ve been dope, man, hands down.”

Boyega, though, is open to a similar story being told down the line in a galaxy far, far away: “If they could do [that type of story] in TV, do all that kind of stuff, I would love to watch it,” he said.

For now, that’s all in the past. For more of the franchise’s future, check out all the upcoming Star Wars movies just over the horizon.

Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.