15 Super In-Depth Fan Theories About Finn From Star Wars

Wilwander believes that Finn has some connection to the Force (even if it pales in comparison to the likes of Rey) and makes a well reasoned argument to support the theory:

"*Finn is seemingly the only stormtrooper to have broken his conditioning, backed up by the incredulous reaction by Ren when talking to Hux about it.

*This happens shortly before the conversation between Snoke and Ren 'There has been an awakening. Have you felt it?' This conversation takes place BEFORE Rey touches the lightsaber and has a revelation. The awakening mentioned by Snoke is clearly Force related, so is most likely related to Finn.

*This is further backed up that in the village on Jakku, Ren stops mid-stride and turns to look at Finn for a long time. As if he senses something in the trooper, but can't quite figure out what it is. If he later realizes it was a Force awakening then all the more reason why he's constantly pissed off that FN-2187 is getting caught up in the mix. Indeed, Finn's awakening here may be the Force going into him and he feeling the life all around him being snuffed out - shaking him out of his conditioning, '...souls crying out in anguish and suddenly being silenced' so to speak.

*Finn is an exceptional combatant. Like, ridiculously good. Phasma states in the canonical book tie in to the film, 'FN-2187 has the potential to be one of the finest stormtroopers I have ever seen.' And in regards to a training simulation, [says], 'FN-2187, your targeting was exemplary. According to the simulation, you fired your weapon only thirty-six times, scoring kills with thirty-five of those. You deployed one explosive, which resulted in the achieving of the objective and another six enemies killed. All of you should take your example from FN-2187.'

*Finn sucks with a lightsaber it seems, but he's almost certainly never trained with one and even makes it clear early on that its blasters where he's skilled and comfortable, suggesting if he has had any melee training it's not comprehensive. But the Force does not make one suddenly good at using a lightsaber, that's simply the product of training. The Force, rather, accentuates your skills, perception, reaction time etc etc - much like Anakin in a pod racer.

*And yet, despite being a lousy duelist with a saber, Finn does actually land a hit on Ren in snowy wood fight. This is pretty surprising, even with Ren seriously injured and perhaps over confident."

KenDefender has a fun theory about Han Solo that seems like something Han would actually do, that rascal:

"I was just thinking about The Force Awakens and the whole "we'll have to go through this shield at lightspeed" thing and how stupid it was, then I remembered something I'd heard about hyperspeed in SW: that a planet's gravity will pull an object out of hyperspace. Since this is the case, entering the planet's atmosphere would automatically pull the Millennium Falcon out of warp.

Instead of just telling Finn this, and that all he would have to do is shut off the conventional thrusters, Han let Finn believe that he had literal 'faster than light' reflexes, an impossible feat."

Beyondintodarkness believes the explanation for Finn being a janitor/stormtrooper is a simple one: 

"We know the First Order has been kidnapping small children for decades to train as soldiers. However, as Kylo Ren points out, these are not clones. They have a normal rate of development, or semi normal. Unlike the clones, Finn has developed psychologically in a fairly normal fashion so even if they accelerated his growth physically it can't be by that much. So, the first order isn't likely training children vigorously until at least mid-late teens but now they have a problem, what to do with them in the meantime.

Give them crap jobs, that's what. Starkiller Base wasn't built overnight. We know that technology doesn't change rapidly in Star Wars and that the second Death Star likely began construction immediately following the first Death Star's destruction, so to completion we're looking at around 4 years start to finish, and that's reusing mostly the same plans from the first. So, scale that up to a planet and we're looking at at least a decade or two for Starkiller Base. Plenty of time for the First Order to stick Finn on there as a janitor when he was a child or teenager while he waited for training."

Graciasamigo sees true greatness in Finn, or maybe more accurately, true goodness:

"Looking at his character, he's trained from childhood as a bloodthirsty stormtrooper, and yet through his undeniable desire to do good, he shakes off the years of training and refuses to shoot unarmed villagers. And tried to help a fallen soldier.

Though at one point he became uncertain and frightened of the situation, and he tried to flee, his witnessing of the kidnapping of Rey filled him with such terrible regret that he abandoned his friend. This strengthened his convictions of what was 'the right thing to do.'

Depending on if Rey and or Kylo Ren flip flop to the dark or light side, Finn will remain true to the good natured side, he will fight hard for what is right, helping those even if he doesn't want to, and he will always see the good in everyone. In short, his conviction to goodness, will be stronger than the light side or the dark side of the Force. And he will rise as the true hero of the saga."

VoidPursuer believes that Finn is the son of Mace Windu, who apparently died at the hands of Emperor Palpatine, but perhaps not:

"My SO was reading an article and was like, 'Hey, you might like this.' She told me that George Lucas has confirmed that Mace Windu survived and I nearly sh*t myself... In the article it says he has been laying low just like Obi Wan and Yoda did.

Now that brings me to Finn.

I wouldn't say that just because Mace Windu is the same race as Finn that he is obviously his dad but, them being the same race is a good foot in the door. (However I guess that's why I always hated the Lando Calrissian theory, but this has some better backing).

Why would a stormtrooper who was put through serious brainwashing and conditioning, break away from the First Order to do what he thought was right? Why was he the only one? ... I believe it's because the Force is strong in his family and he had a minor awakening just like Rey but a little less. Kylo Ren sensed him on Jakku. They have shown him wielding a lightsaber (albeit not entirely well) and he doesn't know who his family is. It would make sense that he and Rey ran into each other.

And finally just for fun. Think about the name Finn Windu. It sounds pretty great."

Rert0Gear makes a case that Finn will become a Jedi, in large part because the universe is dangerously low on space wizards:

"[The Force Awakens] has shown us parallels between [Finn], Kylo, and Rey in their characters and backstories. So why not finish it off and have [Finn] become a Jedi like his two counterparts? There is speculative evidence within The Force Awakens that he is Force sensitive. The destruction of the Hosnian system, him 'awakening' mid-battle, picking up weapons he has never used before rather quickly, and the heavy marketing of him with the saber... this series seems to have an actual plan, and isn't just being thrown together by Lucas because he got a green light to do another installment. So I'm going to assume that every shot best serves the story and is building towards where things are going.

I am also going to assume the writers/marketing team have common sense. Having a character run around for 1/3 of the film with the most iconic weapon in movie history, only to never have him become a Jedi or use it again, decreases the value of the weapon because it becomes common use and not solely associated with a special class. Never mind the fact that it is no longer canon, but I have seen people state there are examples of people using lightsabers who are not Jedi in the EU. The question then is how many common moviegoing fans would know that? Without using his fights with TR-8R(Nines) and Kylo to serve a greater purpose for his story later, they just seem out of place in the series. If the sole purpose was just to cover for Rey, they could have had Finn try to pick up the saber in the scene with Kylo, only to be brushed aside by a single stroke.

So let's say he does become a Jedi, how could this benefit the series? Well for one it helps with the fact that we are running extremely low on Jedi in the universe. Luke's failed academy pretty much sets us all the way back to square one post-Revenge of the Sith. I think they are looking to avoid anymore perceived copied story elements from the OT, having a second Jedi could avoid that. Assuming Rey is Luke's daughter, this allows for someone without the last name Skywalker to have Force powers in the series. Going forward it gives a little more credence to the idea that the Force has 'awoken' by having multiple beings in the galaxy have the Force. Kind of The Legend of Korra-style, but with Jedi instead of air benders.

It makes rebuilding the order a storyline that could be followed in an animated series. Should Luke die by the end of the series, we only have Rey to rebuild. Plus there are like 7 Knights of Ren, and somebody is gonna need to deal with those dudes while Rey fights Kylo and/or Snoke. There are options for Finn to be trained by Luke, [or] Rey when she finishes training, or he could go Kyle Katarn [and] slowly learn it by himself."