Disney's Star Wars sequel trilogy never pulled the trigger on Finn and Poe as a romantic couple. What might've changed if they got together?

John Boyega's Finn and Oscar Isaac's Poe Dameron looked destined for romance, but Star Wars had other plans. What would've changed if their mooted LGBTQ+ relationship actually happened? Finn and Poe's Star Wars destinies were intertwined from the very beginning. A runaway Stormtrooper bumps into an escaping Resistance pilot; together they flee the First Order to join the fight against evil. It's an origin that creates an inherently personal connection - a bond no one else could replicate. When Finn and Poe embrace so warmly upon reuniting in Star Wars: The Force Awakens' final act, therefore (and when Poe lets this handsome newcomer keep his jacket), it's easy to see why some sensed chemistry a-brewing.

Disney apparently disagreed, leaving Finn and Poe friend-zoning each other for the remainder of their sequel trilogy journey. Given the circumstances of their meeting, audience support, and interest from both Boyega and Isaac, Star Wars almost had to work harder not to couple-up Finn and Poe. The reasons why aren't entirely clear. Oscar Isaac himself cited "Disney overlords," suggesting Mickey kyboshed the coupling personally, but as a wise green fellow once said, "The dark side clouds everything."

Related: Why The Finn And Poe Shippers Were Right (& JJ Abrams Was Wrong)

As a hypothetical "what if...?" scenario, let us imagine Star Wars: The Force Awakens releases in 2015 and Disney soon notices fans are getting behind Finn and Poe Dameron as a romantic couple. Rather than fearing the rainbow, Disney embraces the opportunity. How does the Star Wars sequel trilogy, the franchise as a whole, and Hollywood's wider culture shift as a result?

Like any good Star Wars movie romance (all, er... two of them), things would hypothetically start heating up between Finn and Poe in the middle entry. Annoyingly, Rian Johnson saw fit to separate them for almost the entirety of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, meaning any teases of future romance must bookend the script. Signs would come subtly to start - maybe Poe asking Finn if they can talk once he and Rose Tico return from Canto Bight, or a conspicuously lingering farewell...

Finn and Rose's Star Wars: The Last Jedi solo mission was widely criticized for being largely inconsequential to the Star Wars sequel trilogy's narrative... but rumblings of romance between Poe and Finn could fix that. John Boyega's mutinous Stormtrooper spends the period between Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Wars: The Last Jedi unconscious, fighting for his life following a brush with Kylo Ren. Perhaps the threat of losing Finn gives Poe time and opportunity to start catching "feels," but Finn hasn't had that same opportunity. While wreaking havoc on Canto Bight and getting captured on the Supremacy, Rose helps her companion realize Poe might be more than a friend.

Not only does this romantic revelation give The Last Jedi's Canto Bight sub-plot a greater purpose, it nudges out the dead-end flirting between Finn and Rose. By the time Boyega and Isaac then reunite during the Battle of Crait, they both realize something exists between them, adding a more poignant note to Star Wars: The Last Jedi's final battle. Of course, the presence of a First Order battalion leaves little opportunity to explore those unsaid feelings, handing Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker the burden of payoff...

Related: John Boyega Is Right, The Star Wars Sequel Trilogy Failed Finn & Him

John Boyega's Finn is infamously mishandled by Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Once a main character, the sequel trilogy closer loses sight of both his characterization and importance, favoring the "Ren & Rey Show" instead. Oscar Isaac's Poe fares better, but only just. Snippets of backstory and a barely-deserved promotion can't quite obscure how The Rise of Skywalker relegates Mr. Dameron to a side attraction at the Force-sensitive circus. Those problems don't miraculously vanish if Finn and Poe become romantically involved, but cementing their relationship at least gives Boyega and Isaac more meaningful, meatier roles as the Star Wars sequels draw to a close.

Unlike The Last Jedi, Finn and Poe spend large chunks of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker together, ensuring plenty of opportunities to finally confess how they feel - perhaps the most obvious coming during their capture aboard the First Order's Steadfast before General Hux liberates them. Wherever Star Wars' big FinnPoe moment comes, finally bringing them together as a couple in The Rise of Skywalker elevates both heroes beyond simple supporting roles, adding a dash of personal spice to a movie that prioritizes exposition above character almost every time.

The motivation of true love waiting when the battle is won then provides Finn and Poe a more intense, emotive focus to defeat the First Order, beyond just "they're bad guys." Like Han and Leia at the Battle of Endor, or Anakin and Padme at Geonosis, Finn and Poe would be fighting for each other as much as the galaxy, making them infinitely more compelling than in the non-imaginary version of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker that actually released.

Disney's attempt at LGBTQ+ representation in the Star Wars sequel trilogy amounted to a blink-and-you'll-miss-it smooch between background characters, and many interpreted this as a token gesture that didn't do anywhere near enough to address franchise diversity. Had Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker's ending instead featured the long-awaited kiss between Finn and Poe - main characters whose romance played out across three movies - the moment would've packed far more emotional punch, and come across earned rather than reluctantly added under societal pressure.

Related: Star Wars (Almost) Fixes Poe Dameron's Backstory After Rise of Skywalker

A common argument against FinnPoe is that Star Wars couldn't justify pulling the romantic trigger because earlier films didn't include enough setup, but that argument collapses thanks to Rey and Kylo Ren. Despite barely a flicker of passion in past movies (shirtless Kylo is the only explicitly flirty bit), Rey weirdly kisses Ben right before he dies. Controversy ensued as audiences debated whether the kiss was romantic in nature, and why it happened in the first place. JJ Abrams and Disney's The Rise of Skywalker novelization both backtracked by describing the gesture in plainly non-romantic terms, but it's difficult to glean anything other than romance from the saucy scene itself. Rey and Kylo Ren's kiss was widely panned for damaging the growth of both characters, and it's hard not to suspect the moment came about because someone at Disney finished reading The Rise of Skywalker's script and thought, "Hang on, shouldn't someone be making out here?"

If Rey and Kylo Ren's stomach-churning mouth tennis was just a weak attempt at last-minute romance because The Rise of Skywalker lacked a love story, making Finn and Poe Dameron a couple solves that problem. Nurturing Boyega and Isaac's characters into an item that finally locks lips during the Resistance's post-battle celebration negates the need to force (no pun intended) romantic notes out of Kylo Ren and Rey. Their characterization is protected, Finn and Poe's is enhanced, and the Star Wars sequel trilogy benefits from a genuine dose of romance rather than a confused and ambiguous kiss between male and female leads, included simply because tradition dictates there should be one.

Disney's Star Wars sequel trilogy is currently enduring the same skeptical cynicism George Lucas' prequels suffered through the 2000s, and while a single love story couldn't change that, a FinnPoe romance certainly might've lessened the sting. Disney's entire three-movie narrative is desperately lacking consistency and long-term planning. As major plot points leap around erratically, you can feel how The Force Awakens was one guy's idea, The Last Jedi came from another, and The Rise of Skywalker was written by a committee. Rey's parentage storyline, for example, goes "important-not important-Palpatine," while Luke Skywalker can't decide whether to hide from the Resistance, help them, or kill his nephew for stealing one too many cookies (joke... Luke doesn't let his students have any cookies).

Finn's romantic endeavors confuse in the same way. He begins flirting with Rey, but Star Wars: The Last Jedi teases a connection with Rose, then he winds up alone regardless. If the Star Wars sequels had seized upon Finn and Poe as a couple after The Force Awakens, their gradual blossoming could have provided a rare long-term thread that builds naturally from one movie to the next - unintentional signs in The Force Awakens, intentional hints in The Last Jedi, eventual payoff in The Rise of Skywalker.

Related: Rey Created A Rise of Skywalker Problem For Poe In Force Awakens

Finn and Poe both survive the Star Wars sequel trilogy, but the lack of serious discussion around continuing their stories is testament to how badly the final chapter mishandles their characters. The Rise of Skywalker simply doesn't make audiences care about what comes next for John Boyega and Oscar Isaac's Resistance heroes. If they'd ended the movie in a relationship, however, intrigue is immediately sparked. Do they live happily ever after? Do they keep fighting? Do they raise any children? The injection of romance creates a Star Wars legacy for Finn and Poe... as well as a desire to see more.

The gay kiss in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was criticized for holding back on LGBTQ+ representation - for doing the bare minimum and asking viewers to be content. Morphing John Boyega's Finn and Oscar Isaac's Poe into a romantic couple would've sent a far stronger message, unambiguously championing diversity and helping LGBTQ+ viewers feel seen on the big screen. For a franchise as mammoth as Star Wars to kick down that particular door would've truly marked a watershed moment, and surely helped other franchises break barriers.

Despite progress in Eternals, Disney properties are still taking baby steps with LGBTQ+ diversity. A small reference in Loki, for example, attracted criticism (from the likes of Doctor Who's Russell T. Davies, no less) for merely paying lip service. A Star Wars romance between Finn and Poe surely would've given other Disney-owned efforts the green light to position LGBTQ+ characters and stories with a prominence we're not seeing quite yet.

One can't help but wonder how Disney's "Don't Say Gay" controversy might've played out differently in a timeline where Star Wars included a full-blown gay romance between main protagonists. The Mouse House's silence over Florida's oppressive "Don't Say Gay" bill sparked staff walkouts and talent backlash, with many interpreting the company's pre-climbdown silence as tacit support for the Republican bill, which forces educational institutions to pretend the LGBTQ+ community doesn't exist. Disney's demonstrable reluctance to feature queer characters prominently in its movies and TV shows only fanned those flames of discontent, but had Star Wars gone all-in with Finn and Poe as a gay couple in 2019, Disney might've been moved to condemn the legislation more strongly. We'll never know for sure, sadly, but in an era where Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen are settling their differences almost 20 years after the fact, don't give up on Finn and Poe finding love just yet...

More: The Mandalorian: Migs Mayfeld's Arc Is What Finn's Should Have Been

Craig first began contributing to Screen Rant in 2016, several years after graduating college, and has been ranting ever since, mostly to himself in a darkened room. Having previously written for various sports and music outlets, Craig's interest soon turned to TV and film, where a steady upbringing of science fiction and comic books finally came into its own. Craig has previously been published on sites such as Den of Geek, and after many coffee-drenched hours hunched over a laptop, part-time evening work eventually turned into a full-time career covering everything from the zombie apocalypse to the Starship Enterprise via the TARDIS. Since joining the Screen Rant fold, Craig has been involved in breaking news stories and mildly controversial ranking lists, but now works predominantly as a features writer. Jim Carrey is Craig’s top acting pick and favorite topics include superheroes, anime and the unrecognized genius of the High School Musical trilogy.