Rian Johnson's Comments On The Possibility Of FinnPoe Will Break 'Shippers Hearts

From the moment that Finn (John Boyega) admitted to Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) that he needed a pilot in The Force Awakens, one of the best relationships in Star Wars was born. Exactly what kind of relationship they had, though, left audiences speculating, and shippers of a Finn and Poe romance dubbed them StormPilot and FinnPoe, then flooded the internet with fanfic and memes. Now, everyone wants to know if FinnPoe will take their friendship to a new level in The Last Jedi, out Dec. 15, but in an interview with Bustle's Anna Klassen, director Rian Johnson hints that Finn and Poe's relationship might not ever become the romance fans so desperately want.

"I think that in these films we have to follow what's gonna make sense for these movies," Johnson explains out of The Last Jedi's LA press day. Apparently, to the director, that doesn't necessarily mean a FinnPoe union. Sadly, a romance between the two men might have to remain only in shippers' fan fiction, as Johnson implies that nothing will happen in The Last Jedi.

This might break some people's hearts, considering how sweet Poe and Finn's bromance was in The Force Awakens. After the two escaped The First Order together, Poe gave Finn a real name, which before, as a stormtrooper, was just FN-2187. Since that moment, their connection became so clear that fans dismissed the hints at romance between Finn and Rey, and 'shipped the two guys hard. Finn even wore Poe's Resistance leather jacket for a good part of The Force Awakens, which was basically the Star Wars version of some 1950s movie when a cheerleader wore her boyfriend's letterman jacket. Based on their adorable chemistry, it was hard to not 'ship a FinnPoe romance, especially considering that Star Wars had never included an LGBTQ+ storyline before.

An LGBTQ+ romance could happen down the line, according to Johnson, but just probably not with Finn and Poe In the video, the director says, "It'd be a wonderful thing to see a storyline like that." But the question is when? Star Wars has made serious progress in including people of color, but there still is great room for improvement in other forms of representation. In a 2013 interview with USA Today, LucasFilm president Kathleen Kennedy said, “The demographics within our business don’t reflect society, and they certainly don’t reflect the audience... There should be many, many more faces of color, many more women, many more gay people.”

While Johnson may not see a FinnPoe relationship as a fit for The Last Jedi, the upcoming film does have one person who some fans have deemed Star Wars' first queer character. According to W, Laura Dern's character, Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo, could be considered as such, but it depends on how deep you want to dig. In the YA book, Leia: Princess of Alderaan, which debuted in September, Holdo's character implies to Princess Leia that she is attracted to other people besides "humanoid males." Even though she doesn't quite go out and say that she is attracted to humanoid women, some might consider that a proclamation of queerness.

Regardless of whether or not you choose to celebrate Holdo's sexual fluidity, though, most people could probably agree that Star Wars could stand to include an outwardly LGBTQ character to improve the franchise's representation of marginalized people. While Johnson's statement about Finn and Poe may come as a disappointment, The Last Jedi still promises to contain an exciting romance. In an interview with Yahoo! Japan, Johnson said, "It is certainly true that there is romantic drama, but there is nothing the same as the two lovers of Han and Leia, this time." Of course, no bond could be as thrilling as Han and Leia, but hopefully there'll be enough romance present in the movie to satisfy hungry fans.