The Stormtrooper formally known as FN-2187 had an impressive character arc in The Force Awakens. Breaking out of his mental conditioning, Finn switched sides to the Resistance and worked to bring down his old bosses, The First Order. Despite this, Finn still doesn’t feel like he belongs with the good guys and will be planning to flee the Resistance in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
John Boyega revealed the intriguing development while talking with EW, saying the following:
“It got really real for him. And he just wants to get away and not be involved. His intention in the first place was to go to the Outer Rim. He was always brought back [in The Force Awakens,], but this is his chance to get away and perhaps find Rey and go off together. He’s trying to do that at first.”
It won’t be easy for Finn to slip away quietly, though. After defeating Kylo Ren and destroying Starkiller Base, Rey and Finn will be held up as galactic heroes:
“Everyone in the space, throughout the galaxy, would have heard about the young Jedi who discovered her powers and defeated Kylo Ren and the young former Stormtrooper who helped save the day. He’s a hero to people like Rose, who fight for the Resistance because their homes have been destroyed by the First Order.
“When Rose first meets Finn, that’s how she views him. He is ‘a big deal,'” adds Kelly Marie Tran, who plays Rose, a new character that EW describes as a “gearhead, a grease monkey, a behind-the-scenes jack-of-all-trades.”
Naturally, having someone who believes him to be a hero challenges Finn’s view of himself, inspiring him to stick around and fight the good fight.
“He appreciates the adoration for a second, but when he meets her, Finn is trying to escape the whole war. He’s trying to leave. And she comes in and basically gives him a depiction of himself that wasn’t necessarily true. It’s now an opportunity for him to be the best he can be. He has to make a decision, and Rose is there to help him make that choice.”
Directed by Rian Johnson and starring Daisy Ridley, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver and many more, Star Wars: The Last Jedi finally arrives on December 15th.