Annlyel James 
Annlyel explores the potential for John Boyega’s Finn to harness the power of the Force in Episode IX…
Finn, the Stormtrooper with a conscience who ended up becoming a leader in the Resistance, is easily one of the coolest Star Wars characters in the franchise. His storyline may not be as interesting or complex as say Rey or Kylo Ren’s stories but he still is a fascinating character nonetheless. Unfortunately, it sometimes seems that he’s become somewhat lost in the avalanche of awesome characters in this current trilogy and that’s a shame. Finn was such a prominent character in The Force Awakens and while he did grow storywise in The Last Jedi at times it feels like Rian Johnson placed his story second to Rose’s.
And another unfortunate storyline transition that took place between The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi was Finn’s potential Force-sensitivity.
Remember three years ago when the second trailer for The Force Awakens debuted and it highlighted Finn igniting his blue lightsaber, ready to do combat with the mysterious villain? And then on the official poster for the film we got to see Finn wielding the lightsaber like a Jedi. Remember how incredible that was?
Of course, it was a nice surprise learning that Rey, a woman, was the actual Jedi-to-be of the trilogy but even though Finn wasn’t as powerful as Rey it still felt like J.J Abrams was insinuating that he had the Force or possibly setting up a story involving two young Jedi discovering their destinies in the galaxy.
There is one scene, especially that I can’t help referencing because it makes Finn’s Force-sensitivity so obvious. When Finn is leaving Takodana (that’s where Maz’s castle is located) with the two pirates he hears screaming. He turns to look at the sky and sees the Starkiller Base’s laser beam racing across space to annihilate the New Republic. Now, do you understand why this scene is so important? If you don’t let me fill you in the utterly incredible significance of this Finn moment.
He hears screaming and yet there’s no one around. No one knows what’s happening at that moment millions upon millions of lightyears away. But Finn hears them. The only other characters that have ever heard the cries of terror from victims across the galaxy was Jedi Master Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Mike drop!
If that doesn’t prove that Finn is Force sensitive then I don’t know what can?
So, considering that it’s so incredibly clear that Finn has dregs of the Force doesn’t it seem a bit unfortunate that that storyline was lost in The Last Jedi? Either J.J Abrams didn’t fully elaborate that Finn had the Force or Rian Johnson decided to completely ignore that storyline because he didn’t know what to do with it.
But, with J.J Abrams returning to finish the trilogy should he reintroduce Finn’s Force-sensitivity or would that be a waste of time? Honestly, I would love to see Finn’s potential Force sensitivity play an important part in Episode IX.
Now, that doesn’t mean he has to return as a Jedi but maybe he could be like Leia, in tune with the Force just enough to potentially perform a Mind-Trick or two on somebody but that’s about it. I think that would be a great development for his character in the final installment of this trilogy and it’ll make him that much more unique.
Unfortunately, due to his lack of Force sensitivity in The Last Jedi, it seems that this theorized aspect of his character has most likely disappeared just as quickly as Snoke’s life and that is a shame.
Would you like to see Finn wielding the Force in Episode IX? Drop us a line and share your thoughts in the comments section…
The Future of the Force. The future of pop culture writing.
Annlyel James is a Senior Correspondent of The Future of the Force. She is passionate about Star Wars and Marvel but loves a wide variety of movie genres. Aside from her role with Future of the Force she also writes for her blog: annlyelonline. Follow her on Twitter where she channels the Force frequently!
