Now that Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is out in theaters, fans have either walked away satisfied with the finale that director J.J. Abrams delivered, or disappointed that certain story elements didn’t play out the way they’d hoped. In the latter category, we have fans who never got to see any kind of romance blossom between Resistance pilot Poe Dameron and the defected Stormtrooper he helped to escape the First Order, which he decided to call Finn. But that’s not for a lack of trying.
In a recent interview, Oscar Isaac revealed that he pushed for Poe Dameron and Finn to have a romantic arc, but apparently Disney wasn’t ready to make that a primary part of the new Star Wars trilogy, even if fans felt like there was a spark between them. Find out what he had to say about the Finn and Poe romance in Star Wars below.
Speaking with IGN recently, Oscar Isaac had this to say about the lack of a Finn and Poe romance in Star Wars:
“I think there could’ve been a very interesting, forward-thinking – not even forward-thinking, just, like, current-thinking – love story there, something that hadn’t quite been explored yet; particularly the dynamic between these two men in war that could’ve fallen in love with each other. I would try to push it a bit in that direction, but the Disney overlords were not ready to do that.”
Indeed, almost any LGBTQ representation in Star Wars has been relegated to assumptions or side characters having character backgrounds fleshed out in comics, books, and other pieces of media. But there haven’t been any major characters representing this minorities. The Rise of Skywalker did have one small moment of inclusion when Commander D’Acy (Amanda Lawrence) and another female Resistance fighter share a celebratory kiss after defeating The Final Order in the film’s climax. But it feels like the table scraps of what should have been a much meatier and more triumphant moment of representation in a huge franchise.
Unfortunately though, even The Force Awakens and The Rise of Skywalker editor Maryann Brandon said she never felt like there was any romance between the two characters while she was putting both of the movies together. Though fans felt like the chemistry between the two characters was enough to imagine a gay romance between Finn and Poe, the editor had this to say of how she perceived their relationship (via Huffington Post):
“Because I’m cutting it together, I’m kind of taking it at face value, and I’m not reading as much into it as an audience. And maybe that’s just my nature. I don’t know, but I think, again, they’re best of friends. There is a kind of brotherhood there where they understand each other, and they’ve got each other’s back.”
Well, at least Reylo fans got to see the romance they were pining for end up in the final chapter of the Skywalker saga. I suppose there’s always a chance Finn and Poe could have a relationship in a future Star Wars movie or TV show. After all, Kathleen Kennedy said Lucasfilm won’t be abandoning the new characters from this latest trilogy, so maybe we’ll see them return as a couple. But we won’t hold our breath.
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