John Boyega praises 'Star Wars' movie ax 'Duel of the Fates,' but refuses to read leaked script: 'I'd Be Heartbroken'

For many "Star Wars" fans, John Boyega included, the film "Duel of the Fates deleted will forever be the best "Star Wars" movie ever made. "Duel of the Fates" was the original script written for Episode IX, which was to be directed by "Jurassic World" filmmaker Colin Trevorrow. When he left the project due to creative differences, Lucasfilm tapped "The Force Awakens" director J.J. Abrams to complete the trilogy with a revamped script that would become "The Rise of Skywalker."

The "Duel of the Fates" script, revealing a movie far different from what Abrams conceived with the polarizing "The Rise of Skywalker" (there was no Palpatine, to begin with). While Abrams was widely criticized for sidelining characters like John Boyega's Finn and Kelly Marie Tran's Rose, Trevorrow's script gave those characters their own adventure as the two set out to lead a Stormtrooper rebellion against the First Order. This storyline brought Finn's arc full circle, as he began in "The Force Awakens" as a defected Stormtrooper.

Boyega recently said on the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast (via ) that he refuses to read the leaked "Duel of the Fates" storyline because he was such a champion of Trevorrow's vision for the character. Although the actor never saw the script himself during the film's development, he sat down with the director to discuss Finn's journey in the film.

"I can't read that one because I would be heartbroken", said Boyega. "I was...I had a session with Colin, and I have to tell you, it was one of the best 'Star Wars' reunions I've ever had because it felt like two nerds were like, 'Yessss! This is what we want to see!'

"I saw the [concept] art," Boyega continued, "Stormtrooper rebellion, I'm like...that stuff was cool, and I hope Lucasfilm gives him the opportunity to work on something else because I'm sure they'd love to collaborate with him again in any capacity.”

Boyega recently made headlines for saying he has no intention of to play Finn in a future "Star Wars" project. “At this point, I'm cool. I'm doing fine,” Boyega said in a SiriusXM radio interview. "I think Finn is at a good point of confirmation where you can just appreciate him in other things, games, animation. But I feel like "[Episode] VII" to "[Episode] ] IX" was good for me."

Just because Boyega doesn't want to play Finn anymore doesn't mean the character can't continue in the "Star Wars" universe. The actor speculated on the new podcast, "Who knows if somewhere down the line they have a younger actor or whatever, and they're trying to develop Finn? Who knows if we get that: we'll see what makes it so special."

Next up for Boyega is the indie drama "Breaking," which premiered at Sundance Film Festival and is showing in select cinemas.

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