Star Wars Epically Blew Its Only Chance to Save Sequels
With this initially obvious path the story could have taken, the movies might have had a much more exciting plot.
When the first trailer for Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens finally dropped on November 28, 2014, fans held their breath.
After an opening narration over a desert landscape, the first character of the new trilogy they saw was a man in what looked like a stormtrooper uniform.
It immediately sparked discussions about the plot of the upcoming continuation of the epic space saga, with many fans assuming that this mysterious character would be at the center of it all. How wrong they were.
When the film finally hit theaters, it received a mixed, though generally positive, reception.
However, the character who turned out to be Finn, a stormtrooper who deserted the ranks of the First Order after becoming disillusioned with his former superiors, ended up being a supporting character.
And the situation only worsened in subsequent films, as he was sidelined in favor of the new "chosen one" prodigy – Rey.
To this day, some fans lament what a great story the sequel trilogy could have been had they chosen Finn as the central character.
A rogue trooper raised to serve the First Order since childhood, struggling with an inner conflict, discovering that he is actually Force-sensitive (yes, apparently he is, the movies just conveniently forgot to actually address that), leading him to join the Resistance and explore his newfound abilities.
But instead, fans got what they got, and almost his entire arc was scrapped, much to the disappointment of fans and actor John Boyega.
As Reddit user iOnlyPlayAsRustLord described it perfectly:
"Oh, there are actually people underneath those helmets. And one of them is a main character who rebelled after his trooper friend died in front of him. I wonder how Finn's character arc will go. Will he be conflicted about fighting against other people still trapped in the hell he escaped from.
Will he try to save other stormtroopers while his new friends view them as mindless drones? Cut to Finn cheering happily as the rebels slaughter the first order soldiers around him."
With Finn as the main character, the story would have been much more compelling and deeper.
But with the parade of bad decisions the writers ended up making, fans got a story that was stitched together from elements of the previous films, along with highly controversial new ideas, making it mediocre at best.