ST Who should be the Male Lead? Finn or Luke Skywalker

The more I hear about Rey being random, the more Luke has to be the male lead in this trilogy. Luke and Leia are the only ones who carry on the positive Skywalker spirit.

 

I'll take a stab at it. Because all three lead characters arc were shown mirroring each other. The main antagonist is first seen masked and intimidating. He is then last seen, scarred and on the ground. The main protagonist is first seen masked and looking for something. She is then last seen, unmasked and handing back something. The male lead is first shown unmasking, awoke/shaken up and last seen asleep. Yes, they could sideline Finn's arc but his build-up is right there to continue further along with Rey and Kylo.

 

Why not....? I mean if JJ is still heavily involved with the series and is part of the writing team that gave the general direction the characters are going to go...why WOULDN'T his comments on the film be suggestive of where the story and characters are going?

Let's see what the actor himself has to say:

They've talked about Finn being on a story arc multiple times...so yeah this idea that his story was self contained...I have NO idea where that came from.

So...without knowing how the next story is going to go, what challenges the heroes will face and what the overall plot is...you've dismissed Finn as irrelevant to the story...that's a tad premature.

Moving the goal posts and narrowing the focus, but fine here we go:

Finn was raised by the FO, of the two leads he is the one most likely to know not just their tactics and limitations...but also their people. It's clear he paid attention, (infiltration fo SKB proves that) and is capable of putting together a plan so when it comes to actually fighting the FO, and exploiting their weakness he's in the best position to do that. The Republic Military was just dealt a sever blow by the FO and they're going to need every advantage they can get and Finn can likely provide information and first hand experience they need.

Look at it this way, at Maz's castle when the Resistance attacked, they did so from the air....at NO point did they fight the FO on the ground and judging by their Soldiers equipment they don't really have the ability to take the FO's Storm Troopers legions head on. Finn is a chance to level that playing field because X-Wings are not always going to be a viable option...as FInn's infiltration of SKB shows.

Also, we've already seen that John Boyega is working out for an increased physical component to his role and that Finn is right in the thick of things on the Casino planet. It's become obvious to me that BECAUSE of Finn's actions in TFA someone in the Resistance trusts him enough send him and Tran along on a mission of some importance (especially if the rumors about a lightsaber being used on that world are true).

Or they can pass that on to the next generation of heroes, just saying.

 

Luke will be the de facto lead of TFA. JB will technically be the male lead, as is his role and function. But if you're a SW fan--MA has already acknowledged this, Luke will absorb a disproportionate amount of attention. Luke's effect on the early drafts of TFA script was so significant that he had to be written out of the first film to allow for the introduction of new characters. Now Rey, Kylo and Finn will, character-wise at least, be on better footing when they interact with him.

 

Yeah, you didn't address the point about the origin, or @Adept's point about how a hero isn't born but made, through Boyega's quote. Heroes go on journeys in these things, and Finn's was not contained in one movie. A hero journey doesn't end with accepting the call, lol. That makes such little sense that I question whether you're being serious. Would you dispute that Disney needs the SW torch to be passed on to the next generation? I mean, that seems like a pretty obvious fact.

Luke can't continue being the hero from here on out. We are getting introduced to new heroes. So with that in mind, we have three new leads in TFA granted origins. That on its face tells us that Disney is investing in these characters as the future of SW. To a lesser extent there's Poe, but he doesn't have an origin and he was supposed to die originally. Finn's character is one of the three conceived of from the beginning. Dropping him out now makes all of that a waste of investment, and why would they do that again? Despite Internet fandom hell bent on convincing everyone Finn was a failure, Finn was a critical success with the second most screen time in a billion dollar mega hit. Audiences and critics and award givers loved Boyega, Finn, and Finn's chemistry with Rey.

Moreover, all indications are LF hasn't changed its mind. Boyega is working constantly. Disney isn't just paying to have him show up on set, they've invested in bulking him up and paying trainers. They didn't even do that for TFA. The script rewrite is said to be about the popularity of our new cast of SW stars. Who are they again? Oh right, based on screen time, Rey, FINN, Kylo, and Poe. When Ridley is asked about Rey's parentage, how did she transition away from the question? By saying that what matters in TFA is what Rey and FINN found in each other. If taut wasn't important moving forward, I doubt she would answer in that way.

how is he relevant moving forward? However they write him to be. Lando went from shady underground mining town operator to GENERAL. Han went from pilot/smuggler to general. I don't know Finn's arc moving forward, but it's clear Disney has a plan for him. I think he might become a Jedi. I think he might become the Big Deal in the resistance that TFA foreshadowed. I think, like Adept, he was portrayed as the strategizer of the new heroes, by far. Poe and Rey both screwed up when implementing their strategies. Rey accidentally released the rathtars, and Poe got himself caught for no good reason. Finn, meanwhile, was shown time after time throughout the movie putting forth strategies that worked. During their escape on Jakku, he had the quick reactions anticipating the FO's tactics. He convinced a droid to lie for him and get them away. On Takodana, he was the one that immediately recognized what happened with Hosnia. At the resistance base, he gave the resistance the vital Intel they needed to form their plan. He came up with the plan to get the SKB shields down, and it worked. When they thought they were taken by the FO on the MF, he came up with the plan to deal with that, too. He's the quick thinker of our new heroes. I also expect weapons to be his specialty, because I don't think his sharpshooter skills were emphasized for nothing. I also think he looked awesome with a lightsaber and they didn't make him pick up skills with that so quickly for nothing. He'll use a ls again, or other melee weapons, and he'll kick ass with them.

 

Ah, but that's assuming he was sent on a mission. It could quite easily transpire that he wakes from his treatment on board a Resistance ship that gets attacked and he and KMT end up in an escape pod together. His story would then carry on from there, perhaps trying to rescue his captured shipmates or whatever. He would still be front and centre of the action, still meet up with the rest of the gang and still do heroic stuff, etc. but he would not be a prime motivator like Luke, Snoke or Kylo Ren.

As for the lightsabre being used in Dubrovnik, you have me to thank for that 'rumour' but it's not Finn using it as he arrives after the damage has been done.

 

Nothing I've heard in the rumors so far suggests he's shoved into an escape pod, and being sent at present makes perfect sense especially if the Resistance is need of Luke's help.

Correct, so he's pursing someone that is using one. If it's Luke/Rey then he'll likely be catching up with them sooner rather than later. If it's someone else....it's an opportunity to claim one for himself depending on the circumstances.

 

From a plot perspective, it really isn't difficult to give Finn some agency in this movie to have his actions push the narrative forward. It really isn't. A vision, information, or particular skill, that's briefly explained is all that's needed to make him especially important.

 

You nailed it.

/thread

 

If Poe isn't one of those shipmates, then that storyline isn't happening. They wouldn't waste time in the story where Finn tries to rescue random Resistance soldiers. More than likely, Finn is sent out on some type of mission, while Poe leads the Resistance back at the base.

 

There was this rumor that KMT is a refugee, so an attack on a ship is possible that leads Finn into the action. Maybe this storyline will later join with Poe's and Laura Dern's. They together (after Dern's character either is killed or turns against the heroes) help saving Leia. But when finally Kylo + KoR arrive, Luke & Rey are needed. I can think of something like that.

 

JediAce1 Of course Finn would be looking to rescue someone important - I was thinking more on the lines of Leia myself.

 

Share the screen, both are technically co-leads to Rey who the story seems to be about. Finn's story still has more to tell as does Luke's, Poe's, and Leia's, but of the two it would have to Luke in this one and then Finn in the last one since this one is going to focus on Luke and Rey apparently.

 

According to the rumors, she's being treated at the Resistance base after her coma.

 

Her ship had to crash for her to get into the coma in the first place. Maybe Finn was on the same ship when it got attacked? It just seems to me that Finn and KMT on a Space Horse riding into the Dubrovnik location after the ruckus has finished does not seem very much like a 'mission' to me. Seems more like they are 'making it up as they go along'.

 

Not really, her body could've easily flung across the bridge of the ship leading her to bump her head thus causing the coma. The ship then retreats back to the Resistance base so Leia could get treatment. Laura Dern then gives Poe the bad news on Leia.

 

Didn't the rumour mention an actual crash?

 

No, the rumors said Leia is with a doctor receiving medical attention.

 

Please yes.

Episode 8 could be the best of the series if so.

 

Why should a male lead exists ?
In episode VII no one was the male lead,we had Finn,Han and Kylo as main male characters.

 

Actually, Finn was the male lead in TFA.

 

Honestly given how closely intertwined the three's (Rey, Finn, and Kylo's) stories were in TFA, and how they paralleled each other in so many ways, and that their arcs are all still incomplete by the end of the film, the notion that they WON'T be the three main characters is much harder to argue. Also I don't think that it's any coincidence that the final confrontation of the film is between the three of them, not Han, not Luke, not Leia, not Chewie, not Hux, etc. Them, and each one even wields a lightsaber at one point or another and fights each other.

Also to believe that Luke will be THE main male lead, you have to ignore/dismiss Mark Hamill's own words. Because he's said repeatedly that the "new generation" will be the focus, with the old as prominent support. And he's even drawn comparisons to Sir Alec Guinness and Peter Cushing to boot.

 

If you look at the picture of the movie ,the biggest image in it is Kylo,2nd is Rey,3rd are Finn and Han Solo.
Leia can also be seen very well in the picture of the movie presentation.

 

In all the press materials related to the film, Finn is the male lead. JJ on numerous occasions referred to JB and DR as co-leads. Read or watch interviews of JJ and the answer to your question is there.

 

Finn's role would be about as important as Maz's if we were to go by the Chinese poster. Awful logic.