Although Oscar Isaac wishes Poe and Finn were in a romantic relationship, he says it doesn’t happen in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. A fighter pilot for The Resistance, Poe Dameron (Isaac) first crossed paths with the First Order stormtrooper-turned rebel Finn (John Boyega) near the start of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. There was an immediate and palpable chemistry between the two characters when they met, and it only grew stronger over the course of the film. Heck, by the end, Finn was literally wearing Poe’s jacket into battle (at the latter’s request, no less).

Ever since then, Star Wars fans have shipped the two as a romantic couple, earning the pairing the fitting nickname “Stormpilot”. For their part, Isaac and Boyega have continued to support the idea throughout their time promoting The Force Awakens’ sequel, The Last Jedi, and most recently with their social media marketing and press interviews for this month’s trilogy finale, The Rise of Skywalker. But as Isaac admittedly recently, just because he and Boyega are fully onboard with a Finn/Poe romance, they’ve never had any real control of the matter.

Speaking to Variety at The Rise of Skywalker press junket, Isaac said he personally “kind of hoped and wished” the Star Wars sequel trilogy would’ve explored the romantic side of Finn and Poe’s relationship “but I don’t have control”. He went on to describe a romance between the pair as a “natural progression” for The Rise of Skywalker “but sadly enough it’s a time when people are too afraid, I think, of… I don’t know what”. At the same time, he acknowledged the “ambiguity” of their relationship is something that probably allows more people to relate to the characters - before adding “But if they would’ve been boyfriends, that would have been fun”.

The Rise of Skywalker co-writer/director J.J. Abrams also spoke to Variety about Finn and Poe, describing their relationship as being “a far deeper one than a romantic one” in both the film and the movie before it. And though it’s a well-meant sentiment, that comment still feels like a bit of a cop-out. Yes, it’s true the Star Wars sequel trilogy has never explicitly set up the idea of a Finn-Poe romance the way previous trilogies firmly laid the groundwork for romantic couples like Han-Leia and Anakin-Padme, but it’s something that deserved to be explored, like Isaac wanted. More than that, it appears the main reason a Finn-Poe romance isn’t happening is because studio executives at Disney and Lucasfilm are concerned about potentially ostracizing certain moviegoers by depicting a healthy (and happy) queer relationship between two leads in a Star Wars movie.

Abrams did hint at some LGBTQ+ representation in The Rise of Skywalker during his Variety interview, but it’s probably best to not read too much into that. Blockbusters ranging from Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast to Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Endgame have also featured queer representation in recent years, but it’s so far amounted to little more than a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it reference to a supporting character not being straight. And while this trend may yet change with a tentpole in the foreseeable future, The Rise of Skywalker is unlikely to be that movie, by the sound of things.

Source: Variety

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