John Boyega Assumed Finn Would Become a Jedi in ‘Star Wars’ Trilogy and Rey Would ‘Turn Against’ Him Like ‘Obi-Wan and Darth Vader’

John Boyega had a different expectation for his “Star Wars” arc than what made it on the big screen.

During an appearance at Fan Expo Boston (via Screen Rant), Boyega, who played Stormtrooper turned Rebel soldier Finn in the “Star Wars” sequel trilogy, said he expected his character to become a Jedi alongside Rey after “The Force Awakens.” He also thought they were destined to become enemies after they both mastered the Force.

“I think I assumed he was Force-sensitive from ‘The Force Awakens’ script or at least by the time I got to the end of ‘The Force Awakens’ script,” he said. “I thought they were planning dual Jedis. I actually thought that they would Obi-Wan and Darth Vader us a bit. That we would turn against each other or something along those lines.”

Since the debut of his trilogy’s final installment, 2019’s “The Rise of Skywalker,” Boyega hasn’t spoken very fondly of his time in a galaxy far, far away. In 2020, he told GQ that Disney marketed his character “to be much more important in the franchise than they are” to promote the films’ diversity, and then had him “pushed to the side” when the movies were released.

“You guys knew what to do with Daisy Ridley, you knew what to do with Adam Driver,” Boyega added at the time. “But when it came to Kelly Marie Tran, when it came to John Boyega, you know fuck all. So what do you want me to say? What they want you to say is, ‘I enjoyed being a part of it. It was a great experience…’ Nah, nah, nah. I’ll take that deal when it’s a great experience.”

Despite his criticisms, Boyega remains a “massive, massive” fan of “Star Wars,” according to a 2023 interview with Total Film.

“I was the person on set correcting stuff,” Boyega said. “Like the flying jet troopers that we had in ‘The Rise of Skywalker.’ Poe had been saying, ‘They fly now,’ and I thought they had seen the flying jet troopers from ‘The Clone Wars.’ I play the games on ‘Battlefront.’ I have a robust relationship with the whole ‘Star Wars’ stuff.”