John Boyega, who played Finn in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, recently spoke up about an early version of Star Wars: Episode IX that would have been titled Duel of the Fates. Boyega says that he loved the unproduced concept and that he can't bring himself to read the leaked script for it.
The film that went on to be released to the public, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, received backlash from fans for sidelining several major characters, an abundance of plot holes, and what many perceived as a sloppy and rushed conclusion to the series. Now, Boyega has opened up to the Happy Sad Confused podcast about the alternate script for Star Wars: Episode 9 and why he refuses to read it.
John Boyega said that he refuses to read the leaked Star Wars: Episode 9 script because of how passionate he was about the project. “I can’t read that one because I’d be heartbroken,” Boyega said. “I was… I had a sit down with Colin, and I gotta tell you that was one of the best ‘Star Wars’ meetings I’ve ever had because it felt like two nerds who were like, ‘Yesssss! That’s what we want to see!’” Boyega went on, adding, “I saw the [concept] art. Stormtrooper rebellion, I’m like… that stuff was cool, and hopefully Lucasfilm will give him an opportunity down the line to work on something else cause I’m sure they would love to collaborate with him again in any capacity.”
Two weeks ago, Boyega revealed that he has no interest in returning to play Finn. “At this point I’m cool off it. I’m good off it,” he said during an interview on SiriusXM radio. “I think Finn is at a good confirmation point where you can just enjoy him in other things, the games, the animation. But I feel like ‘[Episode] VII’ to ‘[Episode] IX’ was good for me.” However, on this more recent podcast, Boyega added that the character could still live on through other actors. “Who knows if somewhere down the line they have a younger actor or whatever, and they try and expand on Finn? Who knows if we get that: we get to see what made him so special.”
Many believe the unused Star Wars: Episode 9 script would have been a far superior end to the series. Duel of the Fates was to be directed by Colin Trevorrow of Jurassic World fame. Trevorrow and creative partner Derek Connolly wrote the script in 2016, between the releases of Episode VII: The Force Awakens in 2015 and Episode VIII: The Last Jedi in 2017, and the film's full script was leaked in 2020 when The Rise of Skywalker was playing in theaters to mixed reactions. Among many other differences, Duel of the Fates was to have a much deeper arc for Finn and Rose and would show them leading a large-scale stormtrooper rebellion against the First Order.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is available on Disney Plus.
Source: Happy Sad Confused, Sirius XM