Ever since The Force Awakens released in 2015, Finn and Poe have become the fan favorite ship of the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, with supporters of FinnPoe or StormPilot – both couple names are acceptable – wishing that the former Stromtrooper and the Resistance pilot would take their friendship to a romantic level by the end of their story. Well, now the end is here in the form of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and, unfortunately, it’s been confirmed that we shouldn’t expect the pair to get together.
Variety caught up with stars John Boyega and Oscar Isaac and director J.J. Abrams and, from their comments, it became clear that FinnPoe isn’t going to happen in TROS. First of all, Boyega clarified that their relationship, though “loving and open,” remains “platonic” in Episode IX.
“They’ve always had a quite loving and open relationship in which it wouldn’t be too weird if it went beyond it. But at the same time, they are just platonic at the moment.”
Isaac went even further, stating that he would’ve loved to explore Finn and Poe becoming “boyfriends” and felt that would’ve been “a natural progression” of their arc. However, it sounds like studio execs were “too afraid” to go so far as to make their love official.
“Personally, I kind of hoped and wished that maybe that would’ve been taken further in the other films, but I don’t have control. It seemed like a natural progression, but sadly enough it’s a time when people are too afraid, I think, of…I don’t know what. But if they would’ve been boyfriends, that would have been fun.”
Abrams offered an alternate reading of the duo’s friendship, arguing that their bond is “deeper” than a love story and therefore didn’t require a romantic resolution in Rise.
“That relationship to me is a far deeper one than a romantic one. It is a deep bond that these two have, not just because of the trial by fire in which they met, but also because of their willingness to be as intimate as they are, as afraid as they, as unsure as they are, and still be bold, and still be daring and brave.”
Fans are understandably feeling pretty downhearted at this news, then, though there is one small consolation prize. The filmmaker did tease to Variety that there would be some LGBTQ+ representation in Episode IX, though he refused to be drawn on what that could be. It’s speculated though that Rise could attempt something similar to Avengers: Endgame‘s much-vaunted first gay character in the MCU, who only appeared for one scene, but we honestly don’t know yet.
How do you feel about there being no FinnPoe romance in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, though? Join the discussion in the comments section down below.
