‘Star Wars’ John Boyega Finally Shares His Thoughts On ‘Reylo’

Although the two characters were never in an official relationship, they did share a kiss in 2019’s “The Rise of Skywalker,” right before Ben Solo faded into the force.

“Reylo” is the term for the romantic pairing of the character Rey and Kylo Ren. The two characters first met in 2015’s “The Force Awakens,” when Kylo Ren chased her down and kidnapped her in order to try to retrieve the map that led to Luke Skywalker. Rey, through tears, managed to resist his interrogation and turn the tables on the shaken Ren. After she watches him kill his father, Han Solo, the two engage in a vicious lightsaber battle that ends with Ren offering to teach her the ways of the Force. Rey refuses and slashes his face with her lightsaber in order to get away.

In 2017’s “The Last Jedi,” their connection deepens as they are able to communicate with each other across long distances. Rey learns about what led to his turn to the dark side and goes to him, believing that she can turn him to the light side. Ren kills Supreme Leader Snoke and offers her a chance to rule the galaxy by his side, but she turns down his offer.

In 2019’s “The Rise of Skywalker,” the two are again at odds until Rey beats him in a particularly contentious battle that leads to Kylo Ren having a vision of his late father. He decides to join Rey in her fight against Emperor Palpatine, and the pair are able to defeat him using the Force dyad that had developed between them. After Rey is fatally wounded after a final attack, Ben uses the Force to revive Rey, and the two share a kiss before his body vanishes.

Although some fans have been taken in by the enemies-to-lovers trope, others have expressed frustration at what appears to be an abusive relationship, given how they met through her kidnapping and torture. It’s clear that John Boyega, who played former Stormtrooper Finn throughout the sequel trilogy, feels about the romantic pairing.

While speaking with Happy Sad Confused host Josh Horowitz at the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2) last month, Boyega was asked by a fan if Finn and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) would have accepted a relationship between Rey and Ben if he had lived.

Boyega immediately responded with a clear, “No,” which prompted the audience to burst into laughter.

“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,” Boyega explained. “Chasing him and saying, ‘We can become something powerful!’ I’m there like, ‘I wouldn’t tell my sisters to do that.'”

If Ben had survived their battle against Emperor Palpatine, Boyega has a guess how Finn would have responded. “If I were Finn there, Finn should’ve had a line where he’d say, ‘Girl, leave him be. Come home with me,'” Boyega teased.

However, he did go on to say that their relationship “reflects off of the spiritual element to Star Wars, the fact that [Rey] recognized the good and was fighting for it.”

Although it seems doubtful that Boyega is going to reprise his role as Finn, he is excited to see Daisy Ridley reprise her role of Rey in an upcoming film.

“I miss Daisy, I haven’t seen Daisy face-to-face in a minute… I found out [about Daisy’s return] online. Being a genuine fan, I’m online, I watch reaction videos, I’m on the subscriber lists. I get the emails, as if I’m not in the films,” he said, per Entertainment Weekly.

“It made sense to expand the franchise in that way,” he added. “I’m just looking forward, first of all, to see if it’s real, because we have had a few Star Wars announcements — you know, in development, they can’t quite get it done. I’m just hoping that Daisy gets that chance to shine in a franchise that’s finally hers, as a Jedi that’s fully qualified. I can’t wait to watch it. I really can’t. I’m happy for her.”