Star Wars Episode IX: John Boyega teases filming (and a better look at his hair)

Don’t doubt that Finn will be getting into the action of Star Wars: Episode IX; John Boyega has definitively proved that he’s ready to roll.

With the news that Star Wars: Episode IX will finally start principal photography later this week, it’s time to jump right back on to the Star Wars hype train. Fortunately, one of the sequel trilogy’s main stars is ready for action — both literally ready for stunts and figuratively ready to get fans excited. That star is John Boyega, naturally.

Over the weekend, he shared a shot of himself mid-leap with a simple caption: “BRB. 9 loading”. Presumably, his Instagram account will be pretty dormant while filming goes on, so as to prevent any inadvertent spoilers. After all, we already knew about Finn’s new look — including longer hair.

As we noted in the above-linked article, it’s a pretty clear indication that Episode IX will follow in the greater tradition of Star Wars films and pick up some time after The Last Jedi closes. That also means that there’s time for Finn to really get back into proper fighting shape and learn some moves outside of his stormtrooper training.

It’d be silly to try to speculate on what exactly requires Finn to pull off what looks like a jumping back kick (or a kick off of a flat surface to get some momentum, which might imply some gravity shenanigans), but what we do note is that Boyega looks buff. This isn’t the first time one of the new generation of actors has gone through some serious physical training — Daisy Ridley famously carried Mark Hamill on her back two years ago — but that’s some air that he’s getting, and that tank top shows off some Marvel Cinematic Universe-worthy biceps.

But admiration aside, this has to inspire some confidence. Fan comments on the tweet include excitement that Finn could play a more significant role in Episode IX. Sure, his trip to Canto Bight ultimately doesn’t really do much, but it does lead to a fight with Captain Phasma, at least.

Star Wars: Episode IX will arrive in December 2019. Keep an eye out for all the latest from filming.