Star Wars: Episode IX looks like it’s bringing Finn back to the fore

If there’s not at least one huge moment for each of the main trio of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, what is Episode IX even for? Hopefully, Finn is set.

Although Star Wars fans are pretty sure that filming won’t take much longer, based on certain objects that have made it onto the internet, it seems as though some big things are still happening on set. At least, that’s what John Boyega wants us to believe.

No, we won’t be putting forward any conspiracy theories about Boyega posting photos from an earlier shooting period as if they were recent. It’s one thing to be somewhat careful in what you say or post as a star of a major franchise; it’s another to out-and-out lie.

Here’s the photo, posted to his Instagram:

There’s no way this wasn’t officially sanctioned, either; the official Star Wars Instagram account has liked this post, and the hashtag #FN2187 confirms he’s talking about his work as Finn. We’ve seen him get involved in fights before, both in The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, but it seems likely that whatever Finn is doing will be more in line with the former rather than the latter. For all that The Last Jedi had some good melee combat scenes, the only one that we’d say is truly stunning is Rey and Kylo Ren’s double duel; Finn and Captain Phasma’s clash was more just there.

Naturally, the next question then becomes this. If Finn is fighting someone, who is his opponent? Kylo Ren again, in another callback to The Force Awakens? That seems somewhat unlikely, if only because it’d be too similar, and Rey and Kylo Ren are already intertwined enough that any Finn-vs.-Kylo-Ren scene would just feel like a way to kill time until Rey gets there.

Does Finn crash after piloting something? That almost seems more possible than his going physically toe-to-toe with someone. He’s done it before in The Last Jedi, and with this being the finale, some sort of air or space battle seems like a fairly safe bet. Additionally, Star Wars has always had a certain knack for the visuals of dogfighting and piloting; it would also require the sort of great effort that Boyega seems to be alluding to.

Don’t count on anything until we see a trailer at the very least, but for now, we’re going to guess Finn has a chance to put his piloting skills to use again when Episode IX arrives in December.