Finn The LOST Protagonist

[@scorpiusfriends1950]

The wasted potential for Finn actually hurts my soul.

[@timothyho5786]

Disney/LUCASFiLM should make Finn a better and co star respective equal the heroes journey through the character development this is a mis-opportunity ⁉️😓💢📵💸💬

[@scorpiusfriends1950]

@@timothyho5786 exactly 😔

[@patrickgreene2663]

Everybody stop crying about Finn. The story is not about him!!! If he was white, nobody would cry!😢

[@samuraibear5102]

@@patrickgreene2663 what are you talking about finn is white he's pretty much exar kunn

[@freman007]

@@patrickgreene2663 What does that have to do with it? Those who saw the original advertisements thought Finn would be the new lead, the new Jedi. Instead we got Rey, and Finn got relegated to a white woman's handbag holder (black guys in the 2020s are the gay guys of the 1990s).

[@MothsAudioandVideos]

"Finn could've been to Sequel Trilogy haters what Obi-Wan Kenobi is to Prequel haters." Fantastic, absolutely spot on friend.

[@Tareltonlives]

He already is.

[@frankmerker630]

I love bots like these, very cool keep up the good work

[@skrotosd]

You bots probably don’t care but you can watch the movies where people that made get actually money, even if you don’t like it a lot of people worked hard and deserve the ticket money.

[@MaMastoast]

I appreciate the sentiment but I don't think the majority of people who worked on the movie get any money from sales

[@normadgarmez7026]

Correct

[@influentialvideos4527]

Finn’s arc in TFA was so powerful. Then he got to....... go to a space casino and .......... free some horses ...... yay

[@danielramsey6141]

It was pretty messed up that they didn’t run into an Ex-Stormtrooper on that Casino Planet! It seriously baffles my mind that they didn’t Do or Say more on the Rogue Troopers that abandoned their posts to seek meaning beyond the Right-Wing Bullshit!

[@medalgear654]

nah his character was screwed before tlj...throughout the first film his character was inconsistent with his backstory(A bumbling, clumsy idiot who seemed too well adjusted after leaving the FO and needed saving as much as Luke did in ANH) This guy was supposed to be a trained killer, groomed to serve a totalitarian regime and to the death but he's always being knocked down by people who should be lower skilled than him, needed rescue and being the butt of every joke.

[@InquisitorThomas]

Generally I think the hate of the Last Jedi is extremely overblown, but I 100% agree that they had no idea what to do with Finn in that movie.

[@FN-170]

@@medalgear654 late reply.. Now that you mentioned it, it does seems weird that finn a character who was kidnapped as a toddler and received stormtrooper training and education (some of the best military training in star wars universe) always act like a bumbling idiot (don't know how to fly imperial fighters, barely know how to fight and use blasters, etc) and ultimately became somewhat of a comedic relief. Disney really stop trying before the trilogy even started lol

[@hardpointidentified]

And shout “REYYY” every minute

[@TheGhostbuster1989]

Finn should've been the Main Character of the Sequel Trilogy. Think about it, a stormtrooper going rogue and finding out that he's a Jedi?

[@xptaco2298]

That's what got me into watching it because that was never done before

[@crazydog3307]

that would have been epic tbh, i think that's really where they were headed, but then they changed it up

[@frog6054]

Damn, what a waste potential.......

[@EmperorOfTheScrubs]

And if not a Jedi, maybe an iconic badass?

[@sosmooth13]

A lot of people were ready for that storyline which is cool. It’s been done in books but not on screen. SWBF2 tried it but people actually wanted to see things through the eyes of the antagonist’s side of the empire.

[@silverpslm]

One of my favorite moments in Force Awakens was when Finn went toe to toe with Kylo Ren. You know he was gonna lose, but his determination to save Rey kept him going. He constsntly was being abused as a traitor for doing the right thing, and it all leads to this moment. And for a moment, he is able to injure a sith lord. And that was all I wanted for Finn, to prove he wasn't a waste of space.

[@klumsyninja9073]

And then his character went to hell LOL

[@windghost2]

@@klumsyninja9073 Fucking TLJ!

[@altier1014]

and then he was a waste of space...sad

[@windghost2]

@@altier1014 He would’ve been amazing if we had gotten the original script.

[@Lobsterwithinternet]

If it were up to me, Finn would've trained Finn after rejecting Rey.

[@TheEzekiel300]

I will never forget raising an eyebro when Rian Johnson told fans that Rey and Kylo Ren were the side of a half of an whole protagonist and I remember fans getting upset and saying " I thought Finn was a Protagonist" Then Rian Johnson says "Finn is a protagonist also" I knew something was wrong when Rian Johnson said that.

[@stranger59]

He knew the moment they had him change the Finn/Phasma scene that Disney didn't want Finn as a real protag. That and the lack of a stormtrooper rebellion both form a picture of Disney wanting to avoid what seemed like the natural set up for Finn's arc if it wasn't to focus purely on his connection to the Force.

[@sudoscientist]

Finn & Rey should've been the "halves of a whole protagonist" for sure. Rey is set up to be a force prodigy in TFA, but prefers her staff and doesn't manage well in hand to hand combat against Kylo. Finn has combat training and is implied to be force sensitive, but possibly less capable of using the force offensively. Luke should've trained them both in those different "styles" of Jedi arts, or they could've kept the Leia Training stuff and had Leia help Finn tap into the force the way she did, compared to Luke who learned to feel it and wield it from masters like Obi-Wan and Yoda. Luke's fear of Rey's "raw power" could even have fed into that, with him being willing to help her with the force but refusing to train her with a lightsaber because he doesn't want to create a single person that's too powerful like Ben, or something like that Really there could've been loads of interesting dynamics to work with there, they had dozens of routes to go and they just... didn't. Seeing all this together makes me even sadder for John Boyega and for the story itself. So much wasted potential and real life suffering & further marginalization, because Disney is run by/wanted to appeal to bigots.

[@ViolettaVie]

It's not Rian Johnson's fault. Disney/Lucusfilm gave him their note and told him what they wanted and he did his job.

[@chrisporter4993]

@@ViolettaVie Rian Johnson was presented with JJ's outline and decided to slap a non-sequitur right in the middle of a trilogy, paying off zero of TFA's setup and taking a direction that made sense for exactly none of the characters involved. I doubt think anyone can reasonably say he didn't make exactly the movie he wanted to. Nobody is prouder than Rian Johnson when it comes to how the movie turned out, and the man still believes he made the best Star Wars film to date.

[@ViolettaVie]

@@chrisporter4993 The buck stops with Disney. Doesn't matter what he did or didn't do. He's employed by Disney/Lucusfilm and if they were not okay with him taking it in that direction they would have interfered enough to stop him. So they were obviously okay with it. Doesn't matter what JJ setup was. They were sidelining Finn anyway.

[@MuwkaMywka]

it wouldve been really cool if Rey hated Finn when she found out he was a stormtrooper and had to learn to trust him

[@rai4119]

True, but I just don't think they would have had the time to show her like constantly being apprehensive

[@lilam7851]

I think Rey's entire character was screwed up. She grew up alone and without support. She should've been someone who doesn't like working with others and has major issues with trust. Imo, she shouldn't have been so happy or jokey, but that's up to opinion. This series is such a disappointment.

[@thorragnarok8112]

@@lilam7851 and she knows nothing of the Jedi or first order because she thought it was a myth so I doubt finding Finn was a stormtrooper would have a reaction that caused her to hate him based of that. The whole sequel trilogy was messed up

[@raafeyplayz7015]

She should’ve been an Twi’lek or something

[@markwilson4686]

@@raafeyplayz7015 she should've been a well written character.

[@umjammerlammy9993]

Disney: We do NOT stand by Racism! Racism is a frowny face :(( Fans: Hey what about what happened to Kelly Marie Tran and how you treated John Boyega- Disney: BABY YODA FUNKO POP THE TV SERIES

[@JurassicLion2049]

I dont mean to be a conspiracy theorist but even Pedro Pascal, who is a white passing Latino, wears a mask almost all the time. It makes sense for the character but this was never a thing for Mandalorians prior to his show. Then there’s the Rogue One crew which is almost entirely human POC that kind of cover all major ethicities. Mexican Diego Luna, Chinese/Hong Kong Jiang Wen & Donnie Yen, Middle Eastern Riz Ahmed, black Forrest Whitaker, and additional POC in the Rebellion. Rogue One then kills them all off - again, which makes sense for the story but gets kind of suspicious. There’s more examples where people of color are kind of erased, hidden, or killed off across new Star Wars which is a damn shame as a person of color who loves these actors and hoped for these characters to be respected.

[@atomicspartan131]

@@JurassicLion2049 it is actually explained in the Mandalorian that he is part of a cult called Death Watch who follow a different code and that includes not taking off your helmet. At least he does take it off on occasion, including the finale

[@NJ_Dsneybuf]

@@JurassicLion2049 _The Mandalorian_ needs a helmet for Din Djarin because Pedro Pascal can't do all of his own stunts or make it to the set every day (sometimes the shooting schedule conflicts with one of his other projects), and Lucasfilm doesn't want to make it too obvious when they switch to a body double. Although, I would agree that the _Mandalorian_ merchandising people screw Pascal over, by rarely using his likeness on the swag.

[@raafeyplayz7015]

Disney actually congratulationed a concentration camp in China for Mulan

[@diamondminer5459]

There are no progressive companies in concept; sidelining a character still doesn’t necessarily entail racism. I say this as a black person.

[@joshdillon9637]

The story of a Stormtrooper and a desert scavenger learning their connection to The Force, becoming Jedi and saving the galaxy from the First Order could have been so amazing. This story should have been an easy home run.

[@Miller09095]

I'd love to see Finn fleshed out in the future, but we already know John Boyega doesn't want to come back to the Star Wars universe and I don't remotely blame him.

[@prentfaiyaz]

I would love for him to have a solo show on Disney plus. I really hope he reconsiders.

[@corwins1991]

They ain't going to Disney plus him.

[@DoctorKidemonas]

I mean, his character got dicked _hard_ in favor of Rey. I completely understand not wanting to do more after already being spurned.

[@FirestoneAnimation]

The only way I'd give disney one last shot, is if John Boyega or Mark Hamill ever make the choice to come back

[@HogandDice]

It wasn't just seeing a stormtrooper become a hero I was excited about. It was seeing Finn become something better than a Jedi, there was so much set up that he was going to be a new kind of Force User and I wanted to see it so badly.

[@ShadeSlayer1911]

Right? Like the Jedi had their own problems and weren't exactly saints themselves. Finn could have been different, something better.

[@prentfaiyaz]

Oh a grey jedi

[@malum9478]

i so badly want to see a force user wield both a saber and blaster and do some crazy gun&blade tricks

[@jsilver9700]

@@malum9478 That would have been sooooo fucking coooooolllll

[@poomar]

I had no idea they cut so much of his story in 7. I could tell they sidelined him from watching the movies, but wow. He really really needs a proper story. This is a really good video

[@MrRjhyt]

There should've been so much more time devoted to the new characters! They didn't know who the audience was that they wanted to please. Sure, Leia, Han and Luke are great characters. But they've had their story told. They shouldn't have been so central to the sequel trilogy. It's depressing to see how John was treated, I can understand why he doesn't want to be 'Disney plus'ed. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qXrKaZxredR8q68 It's soul-destroying how corporate, how 'safe' it was. Truly depressing...

[@chrisporter4993]

@@MrRjhyt It's even more depressing that, in the course of telling the boring, bland story of the new trilogy characters, they insisted on invalidating the accomplishments of every character who came before them. It wasn't enough to bring the original cast back as caricatures of their characters, they had to be outperformed and erased at every available opportunity.

[@diamondminer5459]

I’m not sure how people can definitively say that the wasted potential was a sign of racism. That’s just a writing problem.

[@wahidpawana424]

You should already know by now which country is influencing disney's decisions.

[@SarifaXionic]

I had an argument about this with a friend when episode 7 came out. I saw it coming a mile away because they don’t have black characters in Star Wars movie. Maybe enough to count on my hands but I can’t even name all of them but of course no one listened.

[@MagicalMaster]

I'm a white dude and I was fucking fascinating at the first hints of Finn. A stormtrooper who broke his programing and gets force powers had me nodding along and grinning in anticipation as I thought Star Wars was about to do the Dark Forces Saga with a black man. I was cool for that as I LOVE the Dark Forces Saga and seeing it on screen in any way had me hyped. I know it matters to other people, and best of luck on you with that, but to me just the story idea alone had me hooked colour be damned. Then they decided to shit the bed so hard that there's a brown stain on the foundation of the building.

[@TheRinguDinku5454]

Absolutely, Finn was definitely my favorite in the first but you could tell they sidelined him.

[@justarandompeep8945]

I was so confused when Rey was suddenly the focus in the first movie because I thought she was supposed to be the side “Han solo” character so to see her much less interesting character take over Finns interesting new story was so sad

[@WumboGuy]

Being a black man who's favorite Star Wars character in the entire franchise is Kyle Katarn, initially seeing the introduction of Finn made my jaw drop. Unfortunately I've never been so disappointed by wasted potential. I feel like I'm obligated to at least replay jedi academy now.

[@pizzaisminenoucanthaveit.2149]

😂

[@brightspacebabe]

And…. They made him a Stormtrooper Janitor. Wow, that’s a really scary role in the stormtrooper army!

[@falsehero2001]

This video: “Why was Finn sidelined by Disney if the audience wanted to see his story.” Me, looking at the Chinese poster for The Force Awakens: “We weren’t really the audience they wanted to please.”

[@ThatFlamingFroggo]

When Rey kissed Rylo, I was shocked. Because I felt no real connection, or romance between them. It felt out of place, rushed. While with Finn, it was fairly organic. And yeah, looking back I really hate how Finn got sidelined.

[@MakiPcr]

I literally screamed at the screen, my brother laughed at me

[@windghost2]

@@MakiPcr I screamed No in the theater.

[@MakiPcr]

@@windghost2 Nice to find a like-minded soul

[@-.-.11]

Kylo and Rey did have chemistry on screen. It just wasn’t romantic chemistry. And the fact that after force awakens they did basically nothing with their connection for the following two movies.

[@windghost2]

@@MakiPcr Thanks my guy

[@mikeclarke5732]

If Finn would’ve been the main character essentially Star Wars would be the story about slavery Anakin was a slave on Tattoine, Darth Vader Became a slave to palpatine, Revan was a slave to first the Jedi and then the sith, and Finn would’ve been the slave to the empire and finally break the mold once and for all But CHINA

[@dustinmaxwell259]

OMG LOL. Guy, get that "China" BULLSHIT out of here. It was racism within Disney/LucasFilms, along with those closet racist Star Wars fans. I wish people would stop SCAPEGOATING China. Racism here, in America, played a crucial role in what happened to Finn.

[@dustinmaxwell259]

If they were THAT worried about China, then why, pray tell, did the try to pair that Asian woman with that black man? China hates that as well . No, they did it to appease their closet racist American fans. "Don't worry about that black guy getting with Rey. He has an Asian girl now XD"

[@mikeclarke5732]

@@dustinmaxwell259 That’s how they’re pandering by casting a Vietnamese woman and havering her character be the dumbest and illogical character in Star Wars (that’s why they tried killing her off in the end of the movie and barely had her in the third one). Her character in TLJ is a complete idiot since she attacks Finn, leaves child slaves alone to go free some animals, and nearly dooms the rebellion by getting in Finns way of a sacrifice ( not to mention they could’ve had Rose sabotage Finns transport or have her do a mission impossible style escape scene to save Finn but of all things THEY HAD HER BAD DRIVING CRASH INTO FINN NEARLY KILLING THEM BOTH). They didn’t cast her to show how great Vietnamese people are they casted her to show the direct opposite to get China on their side that’s why they wrote her out of the next movie only making a cameo. Hell If you look up the original plan for the Force Awakens Finn was supposed to be the main character (that’s why he was the first person to show up on the teaser) but they had decided to change it to Rey instead and type cast Finn at first I thought that made no sense since Finn was advertised all over in the US as the main character with posters and action figures galore showing him with the lightsaber and his battle with Kylo Ren. But in the Chinese posters and Advertisements Finn is literally shrunk hidden behind BB8(Seriously look up the comparison it’s hilariously embarrassing)and all his lightsabers scenes where cut from there version of the trailers. It’s obvious Disney didn’t care about the fans in the slightest considering they killed off the entire main trio from the previous movie and didn’t even give a scene with them all together again. Why do you think they didn’t show Jedi Master Luke until the Mandalorian( written by actual fans of Star Wars) or made Revan cannon BY ONLY MENTIONING HIS NAME ONCE IN A NOVEL ( they didn’t even give a backstory or picture or description they just named an army off of his name) or brought back Palpatine (making the entire prequel and Original trilogy pointless)? They don’t care about the fans they ignored them just to make money

[@dustinmaxwell259]

@@mikeclarke5732 lol. Dude that is NOT what happened. Just ask me and I'll drop some links for you. No, Finn ( or Skyler) was supposed to have been Rey's co-star. Kylo was supposed to have been Jacen Solo., in that he betrays Luke and dies as a villain. And Rey was supposed to have been Vader's tech savvy, bad ass Jedi granddaughter.. But things went south right off the bat. JJ didn't see color while casting roles. And there was no certain race set for Finn. So JJ hired the best man for the job, But LucasFilms/Disney went nuts because they did NOT want a black guy in that role. JJ refused to back down, so they ordered him to reduce Finn's role in the story. They thought it was "too risky" to have a black guy playing such an important role in the trilogy. JJ tried to ship Finn with Rey, as that was part of his original story, but the big wigs, and MANY Star Wars fans , went NUTS at the thought of Finn being paired with Rey. I tell you, they'll lie their arses off, about not "being that prejudice", and how they never panicked over the idea of John having a major role and being shipped with the female lead. But I KNOW what I READ from SEVERAL different media outlets. The racism was popping up everywhere. I was truly disgusted with Americans. But long story short, Finn was sidelined in favor of the young white male. Closet racist AMERICAN Star Wars fans were appeased. Racist Dinsey/LucasFilms heads were appeased, and the trilogy became a huge dumpster fire, because it wasn't what George+ JJ had originally dreamed up. I'm telling you, there WAS a plan, but it was tossed thanks to racism in America. That's why John defends JJ. JJ came back to fix their mess after they tossed his work out the window. Rose was introduced to say, "Here, the black guy has a love interest. he can't touch the WW. They're just _Friends_ "> Rian Johnson screwed up the casting though. SEVERAL attractive, WELL SEASONED actresses tried for the role of Rose. Being the goofy TROLL that he is, he deliberately chose the _least attractive_ , chubby actress there, because she re reminded him of an old classmate, and looked as if she did NOT belong in Star Wars" Those were his OWN words. I guess it was a private joke of his, to pair the black guy with some fat, plain/ugly woman. If you go to Girls Ask Guys, there you will see the legend of how black guys can only get fat, ugly girls. Rian could have paired Finn with Veronica. But screw that. Only white guys get paired with hot Asian woman. if Hollywood would have it's way. No offense to Kellie. She's not that bad looking. And personally I think it's the ultimate insult to be purposefully chosen because you're the "Ugly duckling" in the room. Somewhere along the line, she HAD to realize this. "LOL, Ok, put that potato sack on her. Now she looks even uglier (Giggle) . Is there some sort of Teletubby haircut we could give her? LOLZ"

[@dustinmaxwell259]

@@mikeclarke5732 Sorry for the book. But Rian's a douche. Anyway, JJ tried to ship Finn and Rey in in TROS. That's why we got him worrying over her, for most of the film, and it honestly looked as if it would pay off. But halfway into the film, Rey went from DESPISING Kylo with a passion, to having respect + feelings for him. It's right at the halfway mark. That's when the film officially becomes a Reylo film. Overlord, aka Doomcock, said that JJ had made the original draft which had NO Reylo in it. "Kylo was shot over the side ,never to be seen again" Rey was seen (in a deleted scene) to be holding hands with Finn on the last planet. KK went absolutely NUTS. She recalled Adam + Daisy for Re-shoots. They didn't have the time/resources to redo the entire film, so they had to settle for redoing the LAST HALF. She INSISTED on inserting Reylo into the film. Don't get me wrong, some of the Chinese are racist little pricks. But not ALL of them. It's the same as anywhere else. You'll find racist douchebags all over the planet. But here, American racism played a crucial role in screwing over the black actor. Racist American Star Wars fans went "RRREEEEEE" at the thought of a black male lead saving the day, and ending up with his white female lead. Racist American studio heads went nuts at that idea as well. Now they're trying to pass the blame onto China so they can clean up their image. "We're nor raysist. Blame Chjna". BULL SHIT. John was having problems with AMERICAN Star Wars fans before TFA was even launched in theaters. . But karma played a hand in this as well. The Star Wars brand is all but ruined as movies go. Look, we need to face the racism HERE in America, before we even BEGIN to look at other countries. But others would LOVE to have you look the other way. That way, they don't have to deal with it. And it will NEVER change. But that's how those sorts like it. Comicsgate, Gamergate, ect., are all nothing but KKKGATE with a fresh coat of paint slapped on. Why do you think the Klan tried to team up with ComicsGate? They recognize fellow racists when they see them :-D

[@rcdune7132]

Me personally I was actually very excited about Rey and the whole concept of a lead female Jedi.. that is until I realized she was a terribly handled Luke Skywalker replacement and a generic version of Jaina Solo... I don't understand what was so difficult of just making her kylo's sister and doing the whole twins of the force story

[@havoc697]

Because then they couldn't make people invested in a romantic relationship between them duh. Im not saying people aren't invested in Kylo as a character, but I know many people who only cared about the story as a whole because they were invested in the Reylo ship.

[@Nagasakevideo]

Force powers are overrated anyway.

[@Idolstarcynder]

Sequels are dog water. Everyone should've known when they re-did the death star.

[@seanofthedead3076]

what if they took a route that made both of them finn and rey jedi, but different aspects of being a jedi? finn a warrior, who is force sensitive but is only able to use it to a small degree and to augment his fighting abilities. while rey isn't as adept in combat but is much more capable with the other parts of the force and is able to use it to a high degree like the better jedi of the order

[@reeceperry8152]

I liked the idea of a female Jedi lead too, but what gets me is that it would’ve been SO easy to do both. Finn AND Rey could’ve become Jedi, or one could’ve become a Sith, or they could’ve followed some new path of the Force, but instead Rey became boring and Finn was used as toilet paper.

[@dmancluster2631]

IMO, Finn and the themes of his story (at least in TFA) could fit SO EASILY into the themes of Star Wars and its anti-fascism messages. This could've been so much stronger with some of those cut scenes like the Stormtrooper rebellion and Especially that moment with Finn and the Villager It angers me to no end that they cut out Finn's scene with that Villager. It speaks volumes without a word. John Boyega's acting is off the charts there too, you can feel so much emotion from him despite not seeing a centimeter of his face It would've furthered the messages that the faceless Stormtrooper soldiers are people too, that they're traumatized, that they more often don't want to kill but they're forced into a situation where they have to. I really hope we get a good EU story for Finn that has themes like this in mind. It's what he deserves

[@TheFirstOkiro]

This was probably my favorite comment I've gotten on my video. Thank you so much for your insight. It's good to see others care about Finn and not just make some low effort comment of him only screaming "REY" when the character was so much more than that.

[@dmancluster2631]

@@TheFirstOkiro Thank you so much! Glad to be appreciated. Loved your video btw, it's great to get more perspective on issues like this

[@moonblaze2713]

I wish I had more to add. But I felt like this needed more than an upvote. Wonderfully insightful comment

[@dmancluster2631]

@@moonblaze2713 Thank you!

[@gestaltshakerexplosion7230]

@@TheFirstOkiro Hey dude I only managed to see this video today and I must say I deeply enjoyed it. But my perspective is that there is two clear reasons why Finn got shafted as hard(but they are hand in hand) One: Disney's pure unending avarice Two: CHINA. This one will take a second and I ain't claiming to be some all knowing dude. Sadly China don't like black people that much, so Disney as they always do (like with Mulan) bent over for big papa china to get that sweet sweet Chinese Dollar. Enough of me being tinfoil hat man. Enjoy the rest of your day dude and stay safe out there.

[@bigjake360t]

I think Anakin would like Finn. Finn can do what Anakin could not. Without the Jedi, or the Republic in the way he can free the slaves. I would love to see a story about Finn as space Spartacus.

[@malum9478]

space spartacus or space toussaint 👀

[@bigjake360t]

@@malum9478 I looked it up. That is a better metaphor.

[@papermintairplane]

Finn had the potential to be the most interesting, most dramatic character in all of modern Star Wars, but instead they turned him into Rey's cheer squad. Lame.

[@gideonjones5712]

"We care about diversity and whatever, look at our cast for Star Wars!" "So you guys just ruined Finn out of incompitence and studio rewrites?" "What are you talking about, we didn't ruin him, we care!" "...Have you people even seen your own posters for the Chinese market?"

[@morganrobinson8042]

My god. I never realized how early it was they gave up on him. I knew by the second movie they had abandoned the character, but to see that before the first was in the can they were cutting arcs and plot points that made everything more complex and interesting is a tragic revelation. They did so much damage in just the first movie, to Finn and Rey both, by exalting her at his expense. It was so much richer to imagine her learning to trust for the first time with someone who she has every reason to fear, and to hear the longing in his voice for that connection. I immediately wished to see where that relationship was going because it felt real and mutual and like it was saving both of them. I was never sure if that was what the first movie was going for, and setting up for the future. Seeing it removed was fucking chilling. As was how they compromised his skills to make Rey a lone actor so she wasn't his counterpoint, but Kylo Ren's. This is horseshit. This is racist fear. They were either motivated by their own racism, or they explicitly thought their audience was racist enough they wouldn't watch the movies if he was a romantic lead and a competent, major actor in the plot. God forbid we see a black man strike back against his former master and enforce his own free will. John Boyega was robbed. We were all robbed. Hell, they robbed themselves. This hurt me. But thanks for putting all of this out there.

[@LoponStormbased]

The racism that killed Finns character came from China. They literally hid Finn in the back of the posters in China because China is racist against Blacks and they knew if they gave a Black man too big a role that their sales to the 1.5 billion people in China would suffer.

[@TheRinguDinku5454]

@@LoponStormbased yep, china is xenophobic to everyone really, hell especially other Asians like the japanese due to what happened during WW2, but I also feel like they were just trying to pander to certain audiences (mainly purple haired weirdos if you get what I mean) instead of being racist because they thought they'd get far more money that way. Turns out they fucked up big time and tore the fandom apart with it.

[@brightspacebabe]

I was so expecting Rey and Finn to kiss, but no. No normal romantic feeling allowed in this SW alternate failed universe!

[@sigh824]

@@TheRinguDinku5454 I don’t know if this argument really works bc like yeah China can be xenophobic but this is one case where they specifically targeted the non white ppl. If it was simply xenophobia, they would’ve given white ppl the same treatment. But this isn’t even China’s fault tbh, Disney’s been shafting Finn and Poe in all their merch since TLJ.

[@sosmooth13]

All in all, it’s sad to see that there are certain parties out there still trying to please fans that might alienate them in small numbers instead of just going for it for the sake of decent story telling. I mean, a lot of people seem to be digging Tom and Zendaya’s on screen relationship, so tip toeing really screwed us over. Saying you’re inclusive and not racist while writing out an interracial relationship to please everyone is pretty racist lol

[@emparker2101]

This video is freaking EVERYTHING. And it really reminds me how we always are able to inject humor even in situations when we want to square up with folk

[@TheFirstOkiro]

Gotta laugh so you don't cry, sis

[@ursulabaptiste4241]

@@TheFirstOkiro Tell me about it

[@tiffanypersaud3518]

😢😢❤❤

[@aguynamedatidade]

Imagine how inspiring it would be for Blerd culture and black culture as a whole to have the origin story of a BLACK JEDI who was once a STORMTROOPER. I mean, that would've hit harder for me than Black Panther

[@windghost2]

It was going to be amazing. Disney/LFM will remember this forever from the fans who feel rightly shafted.

[@williampearson6299]

Create your own films

[@kenshix7902]

@@williampearson6299 Fund us then

[@lordgrim355]

FACTS. Dude I was hoping and praying he would be the second coming of a mace windu. Just having another black Jedi was exciting. Shidd I was hoping him and rey would of constared but Jesus Christ smh they just ruined it all

[@Zeta4]

Wouldn’t have happened. China’s a big market for Disney and Disney pretty blatantly reduced the character of Finn in Chinese posters and advertisements because he’s black

[@seankkg]

A rogue stormtrooper strong in the force being the main character and personally inspiring Luke to restart the Jedi would have been so cool.

[@jacquelyynorgana77]

John is literally how all of us felt. He is such a gem. #finndeservedbetter

[@ananousous]

The only one out there who even deserved better than the fans

[@ChrisDeebo]

This is literally the best video done on the outright disrespect given to John Boyega and the characters if Finn. Good job my man

[@Ironorchids]

My favorite part was you describing Palpatine as “a messy bitch who lives for drama.” It’s so accurate!

[@Kenoi_]

They were SOO CLOSE.. they were so close to such a unique and inspiring character and story.

[@windghost2]

And they blew it in favor of telling ANOTHER story with white male lead and white female lead. All while destroying the sequel trilogy by sidelining the dude who STARTED IT.

[@SpaceMonkeyBoi]

Finn: **holds lightsaber** China: "ew, black..." Finn now: "REYYYYYY! REYYYYY! REEEYYYYY!"

[@benromanhatesyou]

spot on

[@isimioyekunlemarktaiwo3643]

you forget racist starwars fansboys and also racist people who see "white man must be front and center in any big movie" on twiiter.

[@matagal_sagaz5620]

@@isimioyekunlemarktaiwo3643 They aren't enought to change Disney or the Entertainment industry, like if they were we could actually get something with more quality instead of diversity=minority money.

[@isimioyekunlemarktaiwo3643]

@@matagal_sagaz5620 believe me it is a enough to consider changes..and I didn't say china didn't have something to do with it but all in all..it is the totality to racism towards the "diversity" of movie roles..be it the racism in China or fanboy gatekeeping or western racism..the point all these factors factored into the stupid changes to finn's character arc.

[@matagal_sagaz5620]

@@isimioyekunlemarktaiwo3643 Well, i think it's very hard to believe what you say when most live action or reboots transforms white ginger characters into black characters for no reason, at this point the western industry is doing anything to get money from minorities, these people you mention aren't considered anymore nor the original fans that aren't even racist and just want something accurate.

[@luizcastellar]

Never realized how Finn was a such strong character. That's nice to see this analysis to understand the feeling we got seeing him in the trilogy getting left aside. Now I see, it was really intense the role he played on the first movie, why I love the character and why the other two movies seems all over the place

[@prentfaiyaz]

Never realized???? Omg how?!!

[@ObaREX]

I remember I thought I was crazy. Like, after TFA, I was so happy with how they balanced Rey, Finn, and Kylo as equally important characters. I remember being so happy to see a fellow nigerian guy make it in one of the biggest film franchises ever. To be a main character. And I was going on and on about it. But then all my white friends kept telling me they didn't see what I saw. It somehow didn't register to them that Finn was a main character. Just a sidekick. It didn't register to them that he had a romance with Rey. And they kept talking about the movie like it was just about Rey and Kylo. One of them even legitimately thinking Finn had died at the end of TFA. And then the other movies came out and I was like... "Huh, maybe I was the one seeing something that wasn't there"... because... there was no follow up for Finn. Even his battle with Phasma felt... so tacked on. And all my friends. All the youtube videos I watched... they didn't seem to care. Everyone was just going on and on about how "subversive" the movie was. And about Rey and Kylo's new hot romance. Even KZbinrs who were usually more "woke". They didn't care about Finn. Even defending the decision to shift focus away from him. It... kinda hurt. And I was, at first, afraid to ever say anything. What was I thinking? Why did I expect a black man to end up with the white lead? Why did I expect a Stormtrooper to ever be more than just a joke? Why were my hopes up for this character? A character whose arch-type usually doesn't last long in movies like these? Why was I expecting my expectations to be subverted? It wasn't until after TROS that I figured out I wasn't alone in feeling this way. So glad people wanted more Finn. I just wish it wasn't too late...

[@prentfaiyaz]

THIS WAS ME!!!! I was so pissed after that second movie.

[@malum9478]

your yt friends were mad cappin on you homie. i hope you went back on them with this

[@josephspurgis7782]

Yknow I never knew why I had a distaste for this trilogy but now I know. Finn was my favorite.

[@rosamariasilva4926]

Bro you have no idea how much I agree. You not alone bro and you not crazy. I suggest you see my comment from this guys other video the one with “what happen to Rey and Finn” and you’ll see like how you and me we feel this way about Finn and this potential that he had as co-protagonist or even better the Po Op. And was brought to life by the actor of Finn in the TFA. Just want you to know that I love Star Wars and the all the movies but for me the story ends for me in force awakens and the last Jedi and the rise of skywalker do not exist to me. TFA was a blockbuster film and i made this word up but I call movies like ROS and TLJ Bluster films meaning they are good movies to watch cause of there visuals and coool effects like every cool movie, but the story and dio log and many things makes it sh*t.

[@blakebridges8989]

The fight between Finn and Kylo was the best fight of the entire sequel trilogy. It was like two minutes long but it made sense lore wise and it was so cool seeing a non force user fight a lightsaber to try and hold off a a sith Warrior. I had such high hopes for Finn but Disney can’t let a black character be too prominent because China doesn’t like black people. And Disney’s gotta have those Chinese dollars.

[@pinkfloydguy7781]

Disney really got to have their cake and eat it too, honestly I’m impressed with how much a greedy and twisted piece of shit they all are. They perfectly balanced virtue signaling to American audiences while keeping the black man down enough for Chinese audiences. Their trilogy is so tied together with the concept of wokeness in America that not liking the sequels flags you to so many casual fans as a racist and a sexist by default, but they made Finn like half the size of all the other characters in the Chinese posters xD Sometimes something is so evil that it’s fucking hilarious. I fucking hate Disney so much.

[@matthewvulpe3302]

True.

[@chrisredfield9310]

"China don't like black people". Star wars bigots fans hate black people

[@isaacbailey3441]

“Luke just chills on his island standing in one spot forever” 😭😭

[@secretobvious6033]

he is a badass military soldier with PTSD and they made him into a clown that shouts RAAAAAYYY all the time, man such wasted potential

[@turningcog]

This is the disney equivalent of the martha meme from bvs ...just wasting everyones time when they had such good material and talent to work with.

[@viperblitz11]

If Finn were fully realized, Rey would also be a better character. If she had a proper co-lead to share the power and spotlight with, she might not have ended as a widely-despised eldritch abomination.

[@iveyyewitt1621]

"Widely-despised eldritch abomination". Accurate, and more importantly, hilarious.

[@TheHayabusa1604]

Damn I would’ve actually liked the sequel trilogy if this happened, what a shame

[@ursulabaptiste4241]

What a wasted opportunity. The original concept would've been groundbreaking (as in the initial Star Wars film). Racism sabotaged the franchise and John Boyega's career 😒

[@ursulabaptiste4241]

@@vittoriacolona You are gaslighting. Actually he was told that Fin would be pivotal within the franchise. Yes, I saw John's tweets and interviews - he was rightfully angered at how the studio treated him and more importantly the character. They were willing to throw the series under the the bus to appease racists.

[@johndoe-cv8pr]

@@vittoriacolona very true! spot on, my friend!

[@dustinmaxwell259]

@@ursulabaptiste4241 Right on. Even better, the man made ONE little joke about a _fictional character_ , and I'll be damned if those racist reylos didn't go nuts, because he DARED to say something sexual about their Rey. Nevermind how they've said FAR worse . Even I couldn't stomach some of those raunchy comments made by those Reylos.on youtube. So he called out their sh*t, which only made it worse, How DARE he talk back to them?!

[@blacknrd05]

Not his career.

[@atb2674]

He will be fine.

[@gilbertotoledo1421]

This explains so much. Finn always felt like wasted potential. He looks like the protagonist in the opening scenes of TFA, they even go as far as set up that he was a great marksman and a total badass in the First Order academy training, and then they do nothing with that. It really feels like was supposed to be the new Kyle Katarn, but instead he spends the rest of the film and the next 2 just screaming "Reeeeeey!" I have never met a Sequel Trilogy hater that does not lament how wasted Finn's character was.

[@mijanhoque1740]

I was expecting an awesome Spartacus style rebellion from Finns character. Him being a storm trooper turned jedi and helps sparks a rebellion in the first order would have been amazing.

[@facundopollacino7956]

Eso sería repetir lo mismo que Kyle Katarn. No necesitabamos a otro. Y no todos tienen qué ser usuarios de la fuerza para ser personajes increíbles.

[@mijanhoque1740]

@@facundopollacino7956 English darling

[@Skuldrox]

Finn literally got me into Stat Wars. When the trailer for TFA came out, I was so intrigued by his story, based on what little I knew of the universe, that I watched the original trilogy just so I could understand TFA when it came out. Completely lost interest after the mess that was TLJ. Never even bothered to watch the last one. Such a waste of a great character.

[@raafeyplayz7015]

You should watch the Clone Wars (it’s rough start but it gets better every season), and Mandalorian. They cool, I think you’ll like it.

[@platy4700]

You’re not missing anything in Rise of Skywalker.

[@RazgrizFllaga]

watching rise of skywalker will retroactively ruin the original trilogy movies. lol

[@GringoXalapeno]

Hmmm I liked the last Jedi maybe you should watch the pop culture detectives video on it

[@doodledangernoodle2517]

@@GringoXalapeno there’s far more videos explaining how terrible TLJ is. Pop Culture Detective thinks he knows what he’s talking about when he clearly doesn’t.

[@TheArnold360]

36:30 “Finn can still have a good story” along with Poe’s crazy look of hopeful optimism is a killer edit

[@pazz1239]

The fact that Finn actively battles his fellow storm troopers without impacting his character is the worst thing to have him do

[@pasaniusventris4113]

literally. he laughs and cheers while killing people who were once his comrades with no hint of remorse or upset. the "traitor!" guy was more upset about this whole thing than finn was. it's unforgivable.

[@pinkfloydguy7781]

So FUCKING dumb. Colin Trevorrow’s IX script was still weird but at least it wrapped up Finn’s story as a former stormtrooper really nicely.

[@MonkeySharkPro]

Finn should've been the main protagonist and you can't change my mind.

[@atourist9135]

The mouse really tried it

[@infinessia4019]

I was always very irritated when Finn seemed to get sidelined in the series. But now that I know what was meant to be, I am BIG mad.

[@jacobwiren8142]

I'm so glad I FINALLY found this video. For YEARS I have been saying that FINN IS THE MAIN CHARACTER! In TFA, Rey's dialogue is clunky and makes no sense. Furthermore, she has no reason to be a hero or go on an adventure. None of these problems apply to Finn. From the moment we see him, he stands out. He is the stormtrooper that refused to murder. He sets the events in motion. More importantly, Finn is black in white armor, and Kylo is white in black armor. They are a visual foil to each other. Finn was obviously meant to be the main character while Rey is just a last minute add-on because "girl power".

[@crazydog3307]

exactly!! the imagery of finn vs kylo is epic

[@dlein93]

Rey is literally adapted from the main character in George Lucas' original story ideas for the sequel trilogy. She's been part of the story wayyyy longer than Finn has, c'mon now.

[@jacobwiren8142]

@@dlein93 ... are you serious?

[@Ejaz100]

@@jacobwiren8142 yah, I'm pretty sure she was in the comics

[@jacobwiren8142]

@@Ejaz100 Yeah... but a half-baked idea does not disprove my point...

[@ed_2099]

I still remember how my father pointed out Finn and Rey instinctively held hands as they ran from the tie fighter in episode VII. He was like “They could be siblings” and I just dismissed it, but knowing now they both were supposed to be force sensitive, they were supposed to be co-protagonists and end up together. Now the holding hands makes sense and my dad really saw something there. Edit: Deleted a repeated “from”

[@rainmanslim4611]

Disney did Mr Boyega dirty. He was so genuinely excited when the first movie came out, he was becoming a true nerd to embrace his role perfectly. But of course, Disney has no soul and cares only for that sweet sweet Chinese Yuan

[@TheFacelessStoryMaker]

I would've liked for Finn to discover his force sensitivity (we know he had it) and seek Luke out to train him. Luke seeing someone who was once a stormtrooper turn from being a cog in an evil machine to wanting to be a Jedi would restore his faith in people and the galaxy and the potential of Jedi and Luke never tried to kill Ben he exiled himself only because of how he perceived his failures as a teacher but Finn would reignite that and even adopt Finn making him a Skywalker (the ACTUAL Rise of Skywalker). Then Rey discovering what her lineage is becomes corrupted by Kylo Ren and he and Rey fight Luke and Finn and mirroring what we saw in Episode VI Luke lays his life on the line knowing Kylo can be redeemed and ultimately dies for it and Finn manages to bring both back to the light and they decide the three of them will recreate the Jedi order and help defeat the First Order.

[@influentialvideos4527]

I saw Sequel Fanboys screaming that they should continue Rey’s story, but her “arc” is done and tied up. Continue Finn’s story. Dew it!!!

[@tn420animations9]

Adventures of the finn

[@raafeyplayz7015]

Or retcon, and make him a stormtrooper, giving him a good story, he becomes a Jedi, and then frees all his old stormtrooper fellows, and either redeeming Kylo, or capturing Kylo.

[@medalgear654]

none of them have any arcs or story🤣 I can;t even call rey's story am arc let alone call her a character.

[@jamessicard1705]

@@raafeyplayz7015 I had an idea for an arc for Finn to run in parallel with Rey. Finn is always looking ahead for his future while Rey is too focused on the past

[@eleanorgreywolfe5142]

At the end of TFA Finn was the most interesting character, Kylo was a whiny child and Rey is just Rey she does nothing. He should have been the focus in the next films but no he was sidelined, while Kylo did get more interesting but Rey didn't, she did nothing and yet somehow got everything handed to her.

[@AdultThirdCultureKid1971]

I agree as I also wanted to see Finn develop his Force sensitive abilities throughout the trilogy.

[@michaelbarnard8529]

I remember being irritated by the bait and switch, telling us Finn was going to be a storm trooper, but then giving us a janitor that was stuffed into the armor as just one more warm body for a one sided show of force.

[@malum9478]

holy shit you're so right, finn really is the glue that makes the entire story work. by not centering him it literally leads to all of the issues in the rest of the sequels. that's kinda blowing my mind.

[@victorcippitelli2242]

After knowing all this, I will never ever believe Disney when they play the proggressive inclusion card. Not only wasted Finn, they literaly ripped brutally a la Mortal Kombat fatality in all terms of character development.

[@Freemindheaven]

I remember when the first of the second trilogy trailer dropped and me and my dad wept. Growing up as a kid, Mace Windu was pretty much the only character that even looked remotely like us, and for me, even as an adult by the time the second trilogy came around it felt good to see it. They really messed up big time with this. I don't know when they soulless husks that are called companies like Disney will realize inclusion and good reasoning/storytelling with that will give your series longevity far beyond the shelf life of their products. But I hope it'll be sooner than later. Especially when I think about how if they had done things as noted in the video as least half as right, they'd have created something this franchise has never seen before: a diverse fanbase.

[@simpleclonetrooper2740]

What about Lando?

[@timothyho5786]

Which Lando? Or is it Pando from Soylo!💬⁉️

[@simpleclonetrooper2740]

@@timothyho5786 Pando? lol

[@windghost2]

@@simpleclonetrooper2740 Lando was in the second movie though and he was a side character. Not a main character and a male lead for the trilogy like Han and Luke were for the OT.

[@viscountrainbows6452]

@@windghost2 my mans blew up the Death Star with an alien whom face look like a beef patty spliced with a frog. Credit where credit's due 😝

[@peter_parkour]

I was so excited after exiting the theater for Force Awakens. We have some new scrappy characters that are essentially underdogs, which was what I loved about the original trilogy. Racism got in the way of this trilogy's success. That and the worst forced heterosexual romance I've seen in film in decades. Finn would've been amazing as one of the leaders of the rebellion.

[@brqnded]

yea KK used the sequels to push out her public opinion. Horrible, absolutely horrible.

[@aquapendulum]

The romance that the sequels chose to go with was not only forced, it somehow became even creepier than the romance of the PREQUELS! "You are nothing. But not to me." is a line ripped straight from a textbook abusive relationship. That's what an abusive man tells his partner to coerce her to stay with him, to degrade her so that she believes that the abuse she's receiving is more than what she deserves. Rian wrote this line on top of the premise that Kylo was a young white man radicalized to join a violent extremist group. Jesus Christ, at least in the prequels, Padme was heartbroken - not seduced - by the radicalized young white man AFTER he was radicalized. Her dialogue in ROTS goes: "I don't know you any more. Anakin, you're breaking my heart. You're going down a path I can't follow.".

[@DatAsianGuy]

@@aquapendulum too be fair, Padme is also more developed in the moral compass thing. Rey never feels established in that area. but yeah, that's abusive partner 101. so anyone who has a relationship where your partner essentially says "I'm the only person who will ever love you" (because "ou are nothing. But not to me." is essentially just a version of that) run. they are nto good people.

[@squeaks5677]

And as a leader, him sacrificing himself on Crait would’ve been made so much better if he had stopped the big laser thing.

[@crazydog3307]

Finnlo otp :3

[@eneak2518]

Realizing how important Finn was to progression of other characters in the trilogy was devastating 😢

[@zach415]

It would’ve been so cool to see Finn’s inner turmoil at leaving the First Order and then having to kill his former friends. Like take the famous “traitor” scene for example. What if that Stormtrooper was Finn’s best friend when they were training to be Stormtroopers, and now Finn has to kill him or he could convince him that the First Order is wrong and we could’ve seen him start a Stormtrooper uprising. He could’ve actually succeeded in getting his friend to defect only for Phasma to show up and shoot the trooper in the back, solidifying why Finn hates Phasma more than what we got in the film

[@alienobserver21]

I think this is obviously a basically perfect summary of what has happened and everyone interested in wtf happened to FInn's story post-TFA should watch this video. However I want to discuss something regarding the end of the video: I DO absolutely agree that due to his sidelining Finn's character remained somewhat intact and I am happy about that. Yet I have to admit I am not very interested in a story where he for instance leads Jannah's group of former Stormtroopers and they go on adventures on their own. I gotta admit it: while I LOVED FInn from the get go, one thing that got me so invested - and I think you have perfectly shown why in this video - were his dynamics with the others characters. any continuation of his story that doesn't resolve his relationship with Rey, his foil with Kylo, calls back to his connection to Han, to Leia, to Poe etc. etc. falls flat to me in comparison to what could have been and feels like an excuse that is coming too late. this is why I am very torn about future Finn stories. Not necessarily if they came from you for instance because I know you value the same things I do, but I fear what I would want to see is impossible coming from LFL.

[@roycewallace9472]

The sequel trilogy is dead Disney/lucasfilm ruined it to the point where it cannot be saved. But Finn's story can be saved. Because he still has a story to be told about where he comes from, who his parents are or were, How significant are they in why he is so force sensitive and what's his motivations after TROS.

[@CarSVernon]

I saw TFA in theaters 3 times, and pretty much the only reason is Finn.

[@jacquelyynorgana77]

Same! He was my favorite!

[@shadowelii]

the absolute bitterness I always feel when I think of how John Boyega was cheated and how much they really f*cked Finn over (for Kyle Ron!!? For him! I don't see what was so amazing about him. I still don't. I'll always be angry about it.) It's all always enough to make me feel like crying. This video really helped and I've watched it once already but I had to come back again and rewatch it and actually leave a comment. thank you for this, really.

[@jayluis7701]

Kyle Ron

[@joebeard4498]

In the old universe before Disney axed it all he was Bin Froyo

[@Lobsterwithinternet]

Tell me honestly, I'm not the only one who wanted Luke to train Finn right?

[@windghost2]

You're not. I also wanted that.

[@pinkfloydguy7781]

It would have been fine for Finn and Rey to both train with him! Have Finn be the main hero of The Force Awakens, have Rey take more of a lead in The Last Jedi due to Finn’s injury, but he keeps and uses Anakin’s saber by the end of the film. Honestly if Rian had balls then Rey would have joined Kylo at the end of The Last Jedi. And then Luke would train Finn in the third movie, Finn would take the lead in confronting Rey and Kylo, Luke would use a battle meditation to help the resistance in their final fight, Finn would convince Rey to turn back to the light side, and together they would defeat Supreme Leader Ren. It would be like in KOTOR, Revan confronting Bastila on the Star Forge, then defeating Malak.

[@legendaryfrolox6285]

But NOOOOOO disney only made him for that diversity they dont ACTUALLY want a black lead character smfh what a wasted potential character

[@tenormdness]

Disney: A black Jedi won’t work with our fan base. Mace: Hold my purple stick, byatch.

[@DemiSemme]

I wasn't as tuned into fandom online in 2017 as I am now, so I didn't actually see what was happening to John and Finn until TLJ came out, and even then, it took me the second rewatch to realize how much he was being screwed over. Even the LEGO Holiday Special ended up doing it, starting out by teasing us with 5 minutes of Finn and Rey actually being together, and letting him train and be Force-sensitive, and then they had to go and separate them again and put the bulk of the action on Rey putzing about through time with the Skywalkers.

[@SlimSamari]

It's like every chance they get they will try to mock Finn in some way or another. It's not funny it's insulting and wrong.

[@NickBarbieriandfriends]

I actually thought Poe was a useless character as well. And in the end, Adam Driver will be the only actor to be remembered for this trilogy.

[@BackstageFlails]

This is such a well-researched, well-edited video. Can't wait to see you grow as a channel, you deserve it for all this work.

[@TheFirstOkiro]

You’re so sweet! Thank you so much

[@jjjm7322]

God it’s infuriating to hear that the first movie really started out good and it was intentionally censored

[@TheSylveonSurfer]

Right off the bat, when Force Awakens started, I thought Finn was already an interesting character. All the marketing leading up to it was implying that "the awakening" wasn't just singular. It was implied that the Force had awakened in many people. Hell, in The Last Jedi, they even show the little stable boy Force Pull a broom into his hands. I was excited to see a trilogy that had conflict revolving around entire factions of fresh Force-sensitive. I wasn't a fan of Rey's character. A bit too Mary Sue-ish in the way pretty much every problem she faced was kinda just solved for her with little to no struggle. But that would've been fine. Originally, the way I thought the series would play out was... Rey would be the obvious natural Force user. Good at everything. Blah, blah, blah... But when faced with Kylo, and getting her ass handed to her, Finn would step in and kick ass and after her second wind, they would drive Kylo back together. In the second movie, I was hoping that while they focused on Rey being trained by Luke, Finn would be honing his skills with the Force in other ways. Namely, on the front lines. I don't mind that he didn't get a lightsaber. It's cool to think of a Force user who specializes in firearms. It would've been awesome to have trained with Luke seriously but still have her with that light/ dark struggle, so when it comes time for her to face off with Kylo again, she shifted sides. Then out of necessity, Luke would team up with Finn to fight Rey, Kylo, and the Knights of Ren to bring Rey back over. And during that fight, Kylo would slay Luke in a similar way to how Vader killed Obi-wan. But unlike, Vader, this act paired with his previous act of killing Han would begin Kylo's redemption arc. And in the third... Well... I hadn't thought that far with it but I will say that I wouldn't have even hinted at a Finn/ Rey romantic subplot. I just... I didn't like how forced the romance part of it was. I think it would've been great to have them as an Anakin/ Obi partnership with Finn as the obvious Obi-wan. I wouldn't have given Finn a romantic subplot period. Bromance for sure. I think Po was fine until the third movie but otherwise, a pretty cool character. And Kylo would've still received his redemption as well. I didn't hate Kylo's character tbh. I think the role and actor were good but the movies they were placed in were terrible just like with Boyega as Finn. Also, C3PO would've been scrapped much sooner. Sorry, Star Wars nerds, I've never liked C3PO. R2? Fine. The R2 replacement? Fine. DIO? Fine. C3PO... Annoying af imo. Yes, Im gonna have shit takes on Star Wars. You're looking at someone who actually doesn't hate or even dislike the prequels. I thought Jar Jar was fine. Annoying for sure, but inoffensive. John Boyega deserved the spotlight in this series. This series deserved to be better. I'm no Star Wars stan but I do enjoy it. My ideas of how the trilogy would've gone aren't even close to perfect but any version of the script that gives John Boyega the attention him and his character deserved is better than what we have now.

[@leirbag1595]

Yo, not gonna lie, the story would have been very cool if there had been many new Force User factions struggling against each other. Especially if the Force Users themselves had come from unexpected backgrounds, like Finn and Rey themselves.

[@partymantis3421]

I agree, (although i respectfully disagree with the C3po bit as Anthony Daniels is a treasure,) Finn had so mutch potential and they utterly failed to deliver, i do like the forcesensitive with a no saber idea. hope Boyega gets a propper sci-fi role some day, he is a talented actor with a nerdy side that deserves more.

[@gabrielalele8603]

Agree with Everything you stated outside of Finn & Rey not having a potential relationship. #SolidPoints

[@battyrae1398]

you know what? fuck it. Finn Skywalker. Aint no reason why not.

[@hueberto7272]

Anakins black cousin

[@yuhyuhfr]

@@hueberto7272 Finn Windu

[@CoKane621]

@@yuhyuhfr ay, thats cool

[@crazydog3307]

Finn would have been an amazing protag tbh, he's a storm trooper, who overcame his indoctrination, and realized that his side was evil, and ran away from it, and tbh i'd consider him a jedi, even if he wasn't given the training or anything else unlike rey

[@ChildeRoland84]

While I agree that the overlooking of the character of Finn was likely due to racism, I would assert that it has less to do with the racism of western audiences than it does with that of the population of China. Disney, had they chosen to, could have easily made Finn a household name, giving the black community a character in Star Wars that they could proudly call their own. But the heads of Disney/Lucasfilm looked at the relatively small population of blacks in the west and compared it to the overwhelming population of china, a nation that has had no qualms about their dislike of blacks, and bowed to the vast amounts of money they would make in the Chinese market, disregarding the virtue clout they would receive by making Finn a full fledged hero of the Star Wars universe.

[@HC-cb4yp]

This. Chinese audiences only reluctantly accept white characters in movies. Apparently, it's going to take a long time - if ever - for them to accept black characters outside of sterotyped roles. One can argue it's still racism by a Western company to downplay black characters for fear of offending a Chinese audience, but then, Hollywood has always been about making money. It's the same reason you didn't see black main characters in significant (if ever) numbers until the 1970s.

[@LoponStormbased]

When you talk about the racism that Disney gave into, it's important to note that it's because the 1.5 billion population of China is too juicy a goldmine for Hollywood to give a shit about being racist. All that virtue signaling just to screw over the one major Black guy in their film and demote him to a token role to make more money. Maybe if Disney had a god damn spine and allowed him to play his role and the sequel trilogy was GOOD because of it, than China might have become that bit less racist towards Blacks, but they just care about the green.

[@2damecuteUK]

China has there own successful movie market machine, why would Disney think it’s so important to completely dismiss a whole demographic of ppl (a black audience) for a foreign audience who are invested in their own movies. I think Disney and Lucasfilm had a outdated notion about the power and marketing influence of black leading actors in Hollywood. The force awakens was released before the success of Marvel’s Black Panther.

[@exploshaun]

Star wars didn't do well in China. Perhaps ironically Disney would've gotten more money pandering to the black community.

[@2damecuteUK]

@@exploshaun why did you use the word pandering? The actor was already casted and the script was already written but Disney/Lucasfilms actively choose to alter based on a foreign market? Why is one situation only considered pandering when talking about wanting to be appealing to the black community as target audience. Is it ok to downgrade a character based on skin tone for a Chinese audience? Isn’t that also pandering??? Changing the story based on racial bigotry didn’t prove to be profitable in the end and failed the franchises legacy.

[@fiendish9474]

Thank you for this video. I really did feel like a lot of characters (especially Finn) in the sequel trilogy had the treatment of "wow you have the potential to be a great interesting character, too bad we gotta sideline you to give Rey more involvement"

[@EllieMiller510]

I usually don’t give the prequels much credit, but at least they had a consistent synopsis written from the start

[@KaizokuSleven]

Thank you, I've said this almost a year ago pointing out missed opportunities in the Sequel Trilogy. I'm so glad that someone else agrees that Finn overall had the most potential to make Star Wars great again. Not only because he's Black but because his story wouldve shed light on new territories to tread for storytelling in the Star Wars Universe. Hell, he didn't have to wield a saber he could've been a gun wielding force users. Imagine Equilibrium and Star Wars had a baby. That could've been Finn at the end of Episode 9.

[@purpledragon1945]

Something id like to add in regards to Finns relationships: Kylo knew him by name, to the point of seeing him on the battlefield and being able to identify him exactly. Think about that for a second while you watch them never interact once.

[@astracontritus1209]

4:05 this hurt me so much. He looked so happy and I can only imagine his disappointment with how Finn was handled. Justice for John Boyega

[@amaas211]

Just from the start I already had an idea that Finn could've had a better background that explained how he felt the force being bled from his comrades and from the people the Order was slaughtering and that he felt the call for change from the force. Would've been so much better than a random scavenger from left field taking the spotlight.

[@faevoryn6578]

You are so right! Finn is such a great character, and I'd jump at the chance to see more of his story. He was my favorite character, and one of the few things I loved about the sequels.

[@ddietz8778]

Upsetting to hear how Finn’s story was chopped to pieces. I didn’t follow the sequel series through but he really was a compelling character just from the first film. You put it well, that the removal of Finn’s involvement damaged the rest of the series, he had the strongest character and was most compelling. When scenes about characterization are cut for action or whatever, it hurts the movie, especially for someone with so much potential. I had no idea how fleshed out Finn’s arc was in planning! That being said, a director’s cut or original script being released would be incredible, or a spin off about Finn in the aftermath of the trilogy. Crossing my fingers for a better future.

[@KidMutantstarr]

A Faveru show makes sense. It's the only way I'd watch Finn comeback.....but they would have to be 100 percent involved.

[@oeleos6730]

The wasted potential of the new trilogy will never cease to haunt me

[@naufrage0]

I don’t even acknowledge it as cannon anymore. It’s the only way I can find peace.

[@the_wooly_badger6801]

Imagine watching the two jedi grow throughout the movies, with finn as the main character and obvious protagonist, while rey is more of a wildcard, and she kinda gets an extended rotj luke skywalker arc, where she proves in the end that she is good

[@RumblySalt]

Thank you for voicing my longtime thoughts exactly. When I saw the first trailers for Force Awakens I was hyped with the idea of a stormtrooper protagonist. More of an underdog than Luke, who had Obi wan as a guide. And yet, what happened happened. Finn being completely inept and yet the everlasting survivor seemed like an insanely good plot.

[@MatthewPalanca]

At the end of the day, it's all Rian Johnson's fault. He very clearly ignored many narrative setups in TFA in an attempt to do both his own Ep 7 and Ep 8. I liked Rose, but trying to force a budding romance between her and Finn was such a misstep. A relationship between Finn and Rey had already been set up in TFA and was an easy springboard for audiences to jump from, considering the natural chemistry that exists between the two actors.

[@vulteiuscatellus4105]

I know I’m gonna get a lot of flak for this, but I highly doubt it’s Johnson’s fault. Disney just wants you to think it is. Rian Johnson is a pariah at Disney and the employees bashing him want to keep their jobs and connections with the company. Johnson’s planned trilogy was abandoned because TLJ didn’t sell toys and because it made less money than the nostalgia-baiting TFA. TRoS is meant to retcon both TLJ and TFA, feature more callbacks to TFA than TLJ including the same OT-derivative narrative beats, and convince fanboy obsessives that the arcs it pulls out of its ass were in place all along. I would argue that if you actually unpack TFA, much of what fans hate about TLJ is already set up in that film. Finn’s explicit romantic interest in Rey in TFA as finished is sadly played for laughs, with the “you got a boyfriend” line delivered during the scene where he’s bumbling around the Falcon doing a Laurel and Hardy routine with BB8. The more-sincerely felt “you looked at me like no one has before” doesn’t imply romantic love, I’m sorry. The full speech if you actually listen to it has him talk about how Rey looked at him after he stopped being a stormtrooper: She saw him as an ordinary, decent person, whereas before everyone was frightened by him. But how does that imply a healthy romance going forward? At least a strong friendship, definitely, especially with how Finn attacks Kylo at the end, but this isn’t how you set up a romance. Just because someone happened to see more good in you than others at a certain point in your life doesn’t mean a healthy romantic relationship is on the horizon. I’ve had employers look at me like no one has before, see more potential in me than others, but I’m not gonna hook up with them. Now, if Finn and Rey had a force connection the romantic interest would probably be more established, but even THAT was cut as we all know. As Finn is the male lead of TFA, the film should do FAR more than what it does to establish him as Rey’s romantic partner. IMO, the fact that it doesn’t pretty much renders the possibility nil.

[@crow-t-robot]

TFA got me so hyped... They had pure gold in their hands and turned it to shit. Finn deserved so much better, Poe too.

[@matthewmaclaine4788]

The FUCKING slam cut to giggity HAD ME SCREAMING @ 8:50.

[@funnysonicman]

I love this video, pure facts. Makes me so sad and sick how this character was treated, but my respect for John Boyega has increased tenfold since he’s decided to speak out about the truth of this situation.

[@gjsncr]

I always felt like we were robbed of Finn's story.

[@insanelyred7101]

*I've been looking forward to this*

[@mattcrook9725]

Twice the strength double the fall

[@jakep714]

It’s an absolute soul crusher to see how Star Wars ended . Remember going to the movies to see the force awakens and feeling such a magical feeling. And looking at it now just breaks my heart

[@reginaldshort8486]

Yeah.

[@redstonemecha7716]

So true. We had a character that was once serving the first order and turned against them of his own free will, and yet they made Ray the protagonist. The girl who at first didn't even want to leave the planet.

[@scarymonsterzz]

This is such a well-researched, entertaining and VERY overdue video. I’m been screaming about Disney purposefully fucking Finn’s character for YEARS and I’m so glad someone’s finally made a deep dive about it. Well done!

[@bellowingsilence]

It always seemed to me that Finn and Rey were originally intended as the main protagonists, plural, of the sequel trilogy, based on The Force Awakens, where this was the case. The proceeding movies tossed this idea out the window, turning Finn’s story into… not even the B plot, but the C plot, and then Rise of Skywalker sidelined him completely.

[@elijahdoesstuff4600]

I can’t wait to see how you fix his arc in your rewrite!

[@logansvideos95]

i was SO hyped on the finnrey ship after TROS especially cause daisy and jons chemistry was off the charts and i just cannot believe how much disney botched what should have been an easy slam dunk

[@CaptainPrincess]

damn I was not aware that finn got extra clowned on with the comics that goes into like the territory of malice at that point dude like getting sidelined in the movies is one thing but when they actively clown you and your backstory in supplementary material at the same time it really hits like they actively hate you

[@QuelSalius]

At a point, they set it up so Rose and Finn could have a relationship, and they even bowed out of that! Awesome analysis, Okiro--you nailed his story and ways to expand it. More Finn!!

[@CountArtha]

Finn's male angst was the most interesting thing in the first movie. He's incredibly self-conscious about the fact that he used to be on the wrong side, and doesn't want anyone to find out - he wants to build an individual identity for himself so badly that he tries to impersonate the first and only role model he's ever known outside the First Order. It's not lost on me that Disney didn't recognize how relatable that was for their target demographic, which is adolescent males.

[@marcglenn]

I needed every word you said in this video. I’ve echoed them into the wee hours of the night, to my lovely wife, who’s always been so patient with my rants. We too cosplayed as Rey and Finn, and I’ll never forget my heart break as I sat there in my 300 dollar authentic leather Finn jacket, and 200 dollar Anakin lightsaber, watching my new hero be reverted to comedic janitor. I remember telling my wife, “that’s why people coming out of the previous showing were saying hey maybe she should hold the light saber”. Overall a good night but that part was very bitter sweat, although it was that night seeing her dressed as Rey that knew I had a keeper.