Ever since Disney began its sequel Star Wars trilogy, fans immediately began to ship two of the new characters, Finn (John Boyega) and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac). While their on-screen chemistry seemed undeniable during The Force Awakens, fans were let down as the series wrapped with no romantic relationship canonically established between the two, despite the massive pressure on Disney to make the couple canon.
Let's take a look at the history of Finn and Poe in the Star Wars universe, why fans ship them and how their romance was shot down.
The History of Finn and Poe
The beginnings of Finn and Poe's perceived romantic relationship started in The Force Awakens. Finn was a Stormtrooper, raised from birth to fight for the the First Order. Poe was a commander for the Resistance. They were never supposed to cross paths, and if they did, it would have been in battle; it was a star-crossed love. As fate would have it, they were brought together, and helped each other escape the First Order. Poe even gave Finn his name -- Finn was formerly known among the Stormtroopers as FN-2187 -- after their escape and Finn defected from the First Order.
After crash landing on the planet Jakku, they were mostly separated for the rest of the film. However, when they reunited at the Resistance's base, they both seem elated to see each other. Poe looked intensely into Finn's eyes as he commended him, saying, "You completed my mission," followed by, "...Is that my jacket?" referring to the jacket Finn was wearing for most of the film. As Finn began to remove the jacket to return it to its former owner, Poe stopped him. "Keep it," he said with a small smile. "It suits you." The scene clearly read as flirtation.
In the second movie of the sequel trilogy, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the two barely even made contact. In the one substantial interaction they had, all Finn said to Poe was "Where's Rey?" feeding into the possibility of a FinnRey romance (another popular ship among fans). Finn went on to spend the entire film on a mission with Rose, another Resistance fighter. Throughout the film, a relationship between them began to unexpectedly blossom, culminating in Rose kissing Finn when he saved her in the battle on Crait.
The third film, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, completely obliterated any possibility of Finn and Poe's romantic relationship. While Rey, Finn and Poe were finally journeying together throughout the majority of this movie, Finn and Poe's relationship became much more "buddy-buddy." Their interactions were more friendly than flirty, and Finn seemed to be back on his pursuit of Rey, though they don't end up together either. In the end, Finn and Poe's relationship fell to a platonic state.
Why Fans Ship Them
Star Wars fans who were on any social media platform after the release of The Force Awakens will definitely remember the influx of Finn/Poe fan art, fan fiction, and fan accounts. Ship names were coined for the two--"FinnPoe" or "Stormpilot." Fans were elated at the idea of these two possibly being the first LGBTQ+ couple in Star Wars history. Though Star Wars had improved in diversity and representation in this trilogy, it could have been downright groundbreaking with a featured gay couple. This would have been huge, not only for the LGBTQ+ community, but for culture at large. Representation in the media is a big part of creating acceptance and broadening worldviews.
Oscar Isaac even revealed that he was playing up romantic subtext to add an extra layer to his character. He hoped that the trilogy would lead the former Stormtrooper and Resistance Commander to a romance. In a 2015 interview on Ellen, Isaac said, "I think there's very subtle romance...at least I was playing romance," hinting at the idea of the StormPilot relationship.
Once it was revealed that the character's love would not be canon, fans were incredibly disappointed. While the actors, the director (JJ Abrams) and the movie scenes themselves strongly suggested the possibility of such a romance, the trilogy ended with the two as only friends. Fans called out the films for "queerbaiting." Abrams did deliver on a queer relationship through two non-central characters fighting for the Resistance, but the way the couple was just thrown in at the end of the film almost seemed like a slap in the face more than true representation.
How Their Romance Was Shot Down
Though fans loved the idea of the two becoming a couple, most likely assumed it would never happen. This is the unfortunate result of long-standing cultural homophobic and a system that is too afraid to push boundaries.
The eradication of StormPilot is largely due to the fact that this new Star Wars trilogy was produced by Disney, a studio which is known for resisting adequate representation. Speaking with IGN, Isaac said this of the relationship and its clash with Disney: "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."
A FinnPoe romance would have been groundbreaking in the Star Wars universe. Because Disney decided the pair's relationship would be platonic, the studio missed out on a big opportunity, and disappointed many fans. But the beloved couple-that-never-was still lives on in many fans' hearts.
Directed and co-written by J.J. Abrams, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker stars Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo, Billie Lourd, Keri Russell, Anthony Daniels, Mark Hamill, Billy Dee Williams, and Carrie Fisher, with Naomi Ackie and Richard E. Grant. The film is now available for streaming.