When Disney announced they were bringing back Star Wars with a seventh episode of the Skywalker Saga, fans rejoiced.
The Star Wars excitement was felt at the box office, as Star Wars: The Force Awakens brought a record $936,662,225 at the domestic box office.
Along with the films themselves, Disney also released, toys, merchandise, comics, and novels to coincide with the next generation of Star Wars. The Force Awakens novelization features primarily the same story, but with additional scenes and a few changes for the hardcore fans that crave more. It has become clear, however, that not everything in this book fits with the author's vision, and some parts were removed by those in charge of Disney-era Star Wars.
NEWS
Midnight's Edge recently sat down with author Alan Dean Foster, who wrote the novelization of Star Wars: The Force Awakens . Foster revealed a bit more of his experience working with Lucasfilm & Disney and how he had to make changes that he disagreed with.
"There were a couple of things in there and a couple of things that happened subsequently that bothered me."
One of the biggest reveals was that more of Rey and Finn's relationship could've been hinted at, but that wasn't the direction the films were heading.
"I'm going to tell you one thing they [Lucasfilm & Disney] made me take out, because enough time has passed I don't think it matters. First thing was, there's obviously the beginnings of a relationship between John Boyega's character and Daisy Ridley's character, and I expected to see that developed further in Episode 8, and zero happened with it. And we all know why zero happened with it, and there's no need to go into it in depth. That's sadly just the way things are."
WHAT THIS MEANS
Whether you wish Rey and Finn had been given a romantic relationship, or are a "Reylo" stan, this news is disappointing. While fans all now know that Rey and Finn ultimately became more of best friends than anything else, Foster is accurate in saying that they were set up differently. Their relationship is altered to two friends who deeply care for each other (as we see through numerous "Rey!"'s from Boyega throughout the trilogy), but in The Force Awakens, it is clear Finn likes Rey, even asking her if she has "got a boyfriend, cute boyfriend" back on Jakku.
It is sad to see others of these theatrical novelizations be censored to some degree. Nevertheless, this is just another example of the disjointedness of the creative team behind the first three episodes of the Skywalker Saga. No matter one's opinion on the films or books, it continues to become clear that not everyone was on the same page.
