Perhaps more than any other movie franchise, Star Wars experiences a high level of fan projection. The space saga has been at the pinnacle of pop culture consciousness for so long that audiences are especially vocal about what they love about the films, and what they most especially would like to see. Star Wars: The Last Jedi – coming after the seismic events of The Force Awakens – is no exception, as fans have been calling for the exploration of a romance between Finn and Poe Dameron.
While cast and crew have remained vague on the subject of a blossoming love connection between the former Stormtrooper and the daring Resistance pilot, writer-director Rian Johnson has confirmed to Yahoo that romantic drama will be a key ingredient in his upcoming debut in the Star Wars universe.
“It is certainly true that there is romantic drama, but there is nothing the same as the two lovers of Han and Leia, this time [laughs]. This movie, which is after the ending moments of The Force Awakens, each character was beginning to walk their own path. So, my duty was to dig down into: where do those paths go for each character?”
It’s fair to say that there can never be another Star Wars romance like that of Han and Leia because, not only is the franchise now being made in a very different era, but the characters in play don’t lend themselves to that scenario. Instead, they lend themselves to a very different version of the Luke-Leia-Han love triangle that played out through A New Hope and most of The Empire Strikes Back – before Luke learned that Leia was actually his sister.
This new version has Finn at its centre – with him having shared some chemistry with both Rey and Poe Dameron during The Force Awakens. But, the trailers released for The Last Jedi suggest that Rey doesn’t get to spend a great deal of time with Finn this time around – so if there is romantic drama to be found in this new episode, it must surely be between Finn and Poe Dameron, right?
It’s already clear that a large proportion of the Star Wars fandom are hoping to see these two characters fall in love, but will Star Wars: The Last Jedi provide the next phase of that big screen love affair? All will be revealed on December 15th.
