Back in 2019, Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker ignited a powderkeg of heated online debates among fans, many of which have laps like waves on the shores of Kef Bir to new discourse discussions about the franchise. Yet, one moment that offered a fleeting sense of satisfaction to a sect of viewers was the emotionally charged kiss between Rey and Kylo Ren–a victory for Reylo shippers that was swiftly undercut when Kylo dissolved into the Force mere seconds after locking lips. Now, six years removed from that silver screen kiss, actor John Boyega reaffirms he’s still standing ten toes down on his stance that Finn wasn’t a fan of their intimate moment.
At C2E2, Boyega sat down with Josh Horowitz and answered a question from a Reylo fan about how Finn and Poe Dameron might have responded to Rey’s relationship with Kylo Ren (F.K.A. Ben Solo) had he survived the film’s ending. Before delivering his verdict, Boyega took a moment to frame the dynamic of Rey and Kylo through the lens of someone not entrenched in the world of Star Wars before ultimately settling on a firm no.
“I mean look, ladies in the room–straight ladies in the room–when he is pursuing you, him trying to kill you is not a part of the romance, okay. Chasing him and saying, ‘We can become something powerful,’ I’m there like, ‘I wouldn’t tell my sisters to do that,'” Boyega said. “But that kind of reflects off of the spiritual element to Star Wars–the fact that she recognized the good and was fighting for it. But if I was Finn there, Finn should’ve had a line where he’d say, ‘Girl, leave him be. Come home with me.”
This isn’t the first time Boyega has spoken his piece on Reylo’s infamous kiss. Back in 2020, Boyega commented on an Instagram post poking fun at Ben Solo) being no mo, positing that Rey and Finn could get romantically entangled like they were hinted to be in The Force Awakens. Granted, Boyega’s joke implied they’d have sex. Still, it was a joke all the same about made-up characters that was refreshingly candid given how restrictive and sanitized actors seem to be whenever they speak about anything Star Wars. Naturally, Boyega’s innocuous comment devolved into vitriolic backlash, as Star Wars fans are wont to do (particularly with actors of color), who took the joke to mean he was actually jealous of the made-up character’s relationship being endgame, as the kids say.
Funnily enough, Boyega’s remark comes a year after Rey actor Daisy Ridley shared her thoughts on the Reylo kiss. Speaking on Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, Ridley revealed the smooch was a part of the film’s reshoots. She also characterized the kiss as a fitting farewell for her to the franchise (at the time) that felt well-earned.
“I felt like we all… it felt earned, and what was interesting [was the] intentionality. My feeling in that moment was that it was a goodbye, so that felt earned,” Ridley told Collider. “Because, I mean, you could call a kiss a thousand things, but I felt like it was a goodbye, and that whole scene felt so emotional. I felt like I was saying goodbye to the job.”
Whether you loved or loathed Kylo Ren and Rey’s kiss, fans can look forward to Rey Skywalker’s grand return to the Star Wars universe in her upcoming film trilogy, where she’ll embark on the herculean task of rebuilding the Jedi order. The only thing the Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy-directed film needs is an actual script from its smörgåsbord of writers and plenty of time to cook before we get any meaningful updates on its progress.
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