ST Underused Sequel Characters - Which one had the biggest potental?

Rey wasn’t a leader.
Poe was already a General.
And Poe made Finn one in TROS.

Rey was not a leader. Nor was she ever given a military rank. Believe me, I specifically went through the three films to see if she was ever given a rank or leadership position. She never was.

It’s the one thing you could say Poe and maybe Finn have on her.

 

And yet the two generals followed her around on those convoluted video game-like treasure hunts, so she was basically their leader. And since she was the best pilot too, Poe, whose singular skill was piloting, had to sit in the back (which is great in my book but his fans feel otherwise). of course, he could have been her co-pilot but Chewiefans would throw a fit so...

 

Maybe the entire film should have only featured Rey, as everyone else was reduced to background noise!

 

I'd argue that Finn had huge potential that got a bit squandered.

Rose too. Absolutely should've had a bigger role in TROS.

 

I would say Maz Kanata was underused in Episode VIII / IX and Phasma in VIII.
Luke was underused in VII and IX but was nearly perfect in THE LAST JEDI.
Now I really don't care about Finn.

 

I would say R2D2.

But at his age, I’d retire and let the whipper snappers do all the running around and screaming too.

 

The knights of Ren....

I know the comics and books will flesh these guys out but potentially they could've been great.

I liked them in the rise of kylo ren comic series but would've been cool if we learned a bit more about them in the movie

 

I think that Finn's background was a very intriguing component of the plot and it was resolved too quickly and inconsequentially. After TFA the fact that he used to be a Stormtrooper is barely mentioned few times and it has almost zero relevance in the story.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think Luke Skywalker was underused in TFA

 

Rose's sidelining in TROS is by far the biggest blemish.

 

The guy in TROS whose first reaction to hearing Palpatine has returned is to say "So it must be dark science or cloning."
He then shows up again to translate the Sith transmission before Rey starts her flight to Exegol.

He would've made a far more interesting third wheel than Poe's old girlfriend or Finn's rule 63 replacement because he knew far more about the Sith than any one man should.

 

This alone would’ve significantly strengthened the trilogy.

 

Connix! One of the few rebels in the trilogy that doesn't constantly annoy me.

 

Well, Maz. Of course. The Sequel's Yoda remake. A cute interesting character with a great actor behind her.

And DARTH VADER. Again, they setup this nice little story of Kylo being obsessed with his Granddad, but then let it fizzle away.
So much could have been done with that. Could have had some nice Ghost Anakin moments that linked up the 3 trilogies and added more psychological complexities into Kylo's character.

 

I've said this before but I liked Kylo better with the mask on.

 

I think Finn should have been allowed to complete his self-imposed mission to ram the "cannon" (TLJ), or whatever that was. The explosion probably would have wiped out the entire First Order contingent allowing the defenders to leave in safety. Finn would then have been hailed a hero of the Republic/Rebellion.

 

Yes, he did.Tavarow had a fitting arc for him but, KK and Disney freaked out.

 

1) Finn. The concept of his character is amazing. A young man who escapes a tyrannical system to seek a life of his own is totally in keeping of both Star Wars and something George would do. But even in TFA he doesn't do that much. Finn's character intro is great in the beginning, but for some odd reason his character quickly becomes a comic relief side character, and not even in an endearing way like Han in ANH. Once he meets up with Rey she quickly becomes the focus of the movie and he gets left by the wayside, only really showing interesting potential on Starkiller Base when he fights Kylo (don't get me started with the ridiculous Phasma encounter or "janitor" background reveal).

His first film wasn't perfect, but there was still potential for the rest of the trilogy that unfortunately gets dropped. I see what Rian was going for in TLJ, but it was just so uninteresting and poorly executed. But to me his worst treatment is in TROS. I had hopes JJ would steer his character on a more interesting path (since he created him and all), but he was basically as much of a non factor as Han was in ROTJ. He was there basically just to bounce off Rey, and when Rey left after defeating Kylo his arc just became about becoming a rebel leader, I guess? Again, not TERRIBLE but just so uninspired. There was potential when Janna was introduced as a former stormtrooper just like Finn, but it was too late in the game for anything to come out of it.

2) The Knights of Ren. Now, I wasn't expecting anything crazy development-wise out of them, but the fact that they've been teased since before TFA and didn't show up until TROS...only for them to do nothing just didn't sit well with me. I get the feeling that JJ wanted them to be the new dark side baddies post-RotJ, Kylo's own personal warriors that replace the now extinct Sith. But with the decision to revive Palpatine in TROS and bring the Sith back as the main enemy in the final episode, I think their role in the story was diminished and they became basically just bounty hunters that answer to Kylo.

3) Rose. I didn't hate her character like some did, but needless to say she could have had a bigger role in TROS, and it's a shame they put her on the wayside. It felt like when Jar Jar returned in AOTC and barely had a role in the film due to reaction from the fans.

4) Maz. Basically was there only for exposition, then disappeared in TFA when JJ realized her character was pointless from there on out. Then in TLJ...again, only appears to progress the plot. Then in TROS didn't really do much either. I dunno, hard for me to think what they could have done with her character, but one can't help but get the feeling her role in TFA could have been fulfilled by Leia.

 

ha ha the Sithologist. Yes, agreed. He would be a welcome Basil Exposition.

@ezekiel22x I unironically think that Connix could have done everything Rose did in TLJ. It would have been more organic if it was a character we knew already given that the movie picked up right where TFA left off.

 

To accurately judge the OP question you need to ask did the Original Trilogy have as many underused characters with so much potential?

This is hard to answer as so many secondary and peripheral characters were expanded on in the EU in the years following 1983. I suppose we will only really get an answer in the following years as writers take characters with little screen time, expand on that and create a fuller, more rounded character. May be the answer lies in that there aren't many of these peripheral characters that can drive the imaginations of writers, who'd want to explore further adventures of the Master Codebreaker, Klaud or Colonel Caplan?

 

I think all the characters were underused.

 

He has his own thread but Finn is my choice.