WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for director Rian Johnson's Star Wars: The Last Jedi, in theaters now.


The current Star Wars trilogy has been built on introducing new characters that seem like updated versions of franchise favorites. From the release of the earliest details of 2015's The Force Awakens, fans began to wonder how Rey, Finn and Poe Dameron would become the next-generation equivalent of Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa and Han Solo. By the time that film concluded, we thought we had a pretty good idea that, if nothing else, Rey would be our Luke, and Finn and Poe would respectively fill the roles of Han and Leia. Instead, the Luke Skywalker of this story may actually be the First Order Stormtrooper turned Resistance fighter, Finn.

Finn in Stormtrooper Armor

To be clear, that isn’t meant to take away from Rey’s impact, both within the Star Wars universe and without. But as far as being a figurehead for the Resistance, like Luke was as the “true” Chosen One, she’s not there... yet. Admittedly, that's part of the point of her story, that she ultimately doesn't need to be anyone but herself to be special. Poe, however, is thrust into more of a leadership role for the Resistance by the end of the film, thanks to Leia’s tutelage. And in some ways, his importance to the Resistance comes from being the son of two Rebel fighters who fought with Han and Leia. But whereas Poe and Rey didn't really need to be anyone else in order to be who they currently are, Finn absolutely did. Were he not a Stormtrooper convinced to turn, his story simply wouldn't resonate and work as well as it does.

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His and Luke’s journeys mirror one another’s in ways that you wouldn’t expect at first glance, with the most obvious being hero worship and how they come to accept it. Once he’s healed from his wounds, the first thing that Finn does is try to ditch the Resistance via escape pod. Luke has already spent the last couple of decades eking out the rest of his days wracked with guilt, and it's easy to imagine that if Finn had abandoned his friends both times, he'd eventually have the same regrets as well. He would've beat himself up about it for years and constantly debated going back to what remained of the Resistance, only to just back out due to cowardice and shame.

Now, hero worship isn't anything new to the sequel trilogy; after all, both Rey and Finn experienced it when they first met Han Solo. If there's a lesson to be learned from Awakens and Last, it's that meeting your heroes can be both uplifting and disappointing at the same time. Both Han and Finn chose to run, only to come back to the fight; it seemed as though Finn was taking over the new Han. What puts Finn closer to Luke territory, however, is that instead of just shrugging off his monumental status, Finn and Luke both chose to weaponize it for the Resistance.

Page 2: How Luke And Finn Use Their Heroism



Luke chose to finally be the legend that Rey saw him as, arriving on Crait aware that the Resistance would spread the word that Luke Skywalker saved them, emboldening their allies throughout the galaxy. Finn chose to lead the assault on the First Order's ram cannon, taking Rose's words of his heroism to heart. Just as he and Rey played off each other well as true friends, he and Rose worked perfectly as the support system for one another. Even though she rightfully tasers him for trying to desert, it's clear just being around a legendary figure like him gives her the strength to be as bold and heroic as she is in the film; if a janitor and foot soldier can lead to the first monumental defeat of the First Order, why can't the same be said for a mechanic?

Kylo Ren and Finn fight

Luke's status as the one who saved the galaxy from Vader and Sidious is what ultimately led to the creation of a new Jedi Order. After all, when you learn your child has the potential to be something greater and the hero of the galaxy can help them unlock that potential, how do you not send them off to train with him? It ultimately failed, yes, but the fact that it got as far as it did proves that it was entirely possible, at the very least, and the Jedi very well would've thrived were it not for Luke's paranoia and poor communication skills. With Finn now having contributed to the First Order's defeat twice, beaten Captain Phasma in battle, and held off Kylo Ren in a lightsaber duel, he's definitely a symbol to anyone in the Order that it's possible to not just go rogue, but to survive. That can't have gone unnoticed among other Stormtroopers, and it'd be surprising if there weren't other defectors in Episode IX when it releases in 2019.

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Given John Boyega's status as a leader in other sci-fi properties--as Jake Pentecost in 2018's Pacific Rim Uprising, and Moses in 2011's Attack the Block--it wouldn't be entirely surprising if he wound up taking on more of a leadership role and giving heroic speeches in the next movie. When the trailer for Awakens showed him igniting that lightsaber, we all thought that he would be the next Jedi and our new Luke Skywalker. Boyega shot those dreams down a month ago in that he's not a Jedi, which understandably hurt, given how much ambiguity there was about Finn following that movie. But he may be more like Luke than we thought, and Last Jedi makes it clear that like the other characters, his story has both concluded and really just begun.


Written and directed by Rian Johnson, Star Wars: The Last Jedi stars Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Daisy Ridley as Rey, John Boyega as Finn, Adam Driver as Kylo Ren, Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron, Andy Serkis as Supreme Leader Snoke, Domhnall Gleeson as General Hux, Gwendoline Christie as Captain Phasma, Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, Lupita Nyong’o as Maz Kanata, Benicio Del Toro as ‘DJ’, Kelly Marie Tran as Rose Tico, Laura Dern as Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo, and the late Carrie Fisher as General Leia Organa. The film is in theaters worldwide.