Imagine 'Star Wars' Without BFFs Rey & Finn

If there was one thing about Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens that brought me squarely over to the side of loving Star Wars, it was the relationship between Rey and Finn. For the record: before this movie, I was not a fan of the franchise. I’m not much for sci-fi fantasy stuff in general, but show me a human relationship or a person struggling, and I will most likely love a thing. Without that very necessary human element, I’ll probably be bored within the first five minutes. So, when I heard that J.J. Abrams almost didn’t make Rey and Finn besties in the film, I was relieved he had a serious change of heart. Because I cannot even imagine The Force Awakens without the two of them working together from the start.

It was at the Tribeca Film Festival on Friday that Abrams spilled the beans. To an audience of thousands, Abrams revealed that it wasn’t until star Harrison Ford broke his leg that he rewrote Finn and Rey as more friendly duo. Before that, the director said, “they were much more contentious.” And while a little bit of that animosity still exists in their relationship in the beginning of The Force Awakens, it’s clear that these two characters come to rely on each other pretty much instantly once they find themselves on the Millenium Falcon.

Can you imagine what The Force Awakens would have been like if Finn and Rey's relationship hadn’t been rewritten in the three weeks Abrams said he had off from filming while Ford recovered? In that time, Abrams said he “really got to look at what we had done and rethink it, and then rewrite quite a bit of that relationship.”

So basically what Abrams is saying is that, if Ford had not broken his leg, Star Wars: The Force Awakens would have been a totally different movie. Whoa.

Thankfully, we don’t have to think too long and hard about a Star Wars movie without Rey and Finn having each other’s backs, because Abrams didn’t create it. That sounds to me like one of the happiest accidents in cinematic history.

Image: Lucasfilm; Walt Disney Pictures; Giphy (2)