‘Star Wars: Episode VIII’ Spoilers: Will John Boyega Pull A Jon Snow?

When it comes to keeping plot lines under wraps, no one is more protective of its story like Disney and the producers behind the new Star Wars trilogy.

So it was pretty surprising when breakout star John Boyega, in an interview with Variety earlier this week, put the early kibosh on the speculated Finn and Rey romance that seemed to be blossoming following The Force Awakens.

“We didn’t establish a romance in seven; we never played it that way. Daisy and I, we’re friends,” Boyega bluntly told reporters when asked about the evolving romance. And when further pressed, John doubled-down on his previous statement.

“Finn and Rey – they’re just friends. Finn is a storm trooper, so he doesn’t really know what’s going on. So the romance thing is something that’s going to be interesting in the next installment. It’s not going to go the way you think it’s going to go.”

The last statement not only sets sail the Finn/Rey ship fans may have been pining for, it also reignites speculation of a different kind. Months earlier, actor Oscar Issac, who plays X-Wing pilot Poe Dameron, told Ellen DeGeneres when he appeared on her show there was a “subtle” romance developing beneath the surface of his performance, as reported by People.

“I think it’s a very subtle romance that’s happening. You have to just look very closely – you have to watch it a few times to see the little hints but, there was. At least, I was playing romance.”

Considering Poe only really shared screen time with Finn and not Daisy in Star Wars Episode VII, it led many fans online to wonder if Issac was hinting at a possible gay romance between his character and Boyega’s.

But that report was quickly squashed by Cinema Blend months earlier, when the editor of Shortlist tweeted that Boyega denied that was the case.

Sad news: John Boyega confirmed to me the Finn/Poe romance is not canon and it only exists "in Oscar's head" ?

— Chris Mandle (@chris_mandle) January 6, 2016

And indeed, John matter-of-factly put the kibosh on that rumor in an interview on the Shortlist website.

“It’s so not true. Oscar [Isaac] wishes it was though, it’s all in his head. It’s a brotherly love, a bromance, that’s for sure.”

So what does it all mean in the end? Does Finn get in on any romantic action in the next Star Wars installment, or is he simply pulling a Jon Snow with the audience?

[Warning: Game of Thrones Spoilers Ahead]

As any Game of Thrones fan is aware by now, Jon Snow, played by actor Kit Harington, died at the end of Season 5. His death sent shock waves across the globe, further bolstered by the fact that Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin to date hasn’t finished his epic novels. With the show surpassing the point where his last book left off, many fans of the books, who previously relied on the source material for spoilers, were kept as in the dark about Jon Snow’s fate as the TV watchers who saw it all go down.

The show’s creators and producers, when pressed about Jon Snow’s fate, all stuck to the “dead is dead” mantra. Kit Harington, meanwhile, helped sell the supposed finality of his character’s demise by publicly telling everyone, even close friends and family, that his character was dead. It was only after Snow was resurrected at the beginning of Season 6 that Harington was able to let people in on the lie he was forced to tell, courtesy of Entertainment Weekly.

So maybe John Boyega is taking the same course. Denying any possibilities for romance to help dissuade spoilers from leaking to the internet. One thing he did promise for Star Wars: Episode VIII, however, was that the film will be “darker” and “bigger” than The Force Awakens.

And that’s something any Star Wars fan can get behind.

[Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images]