Star Wars’ John Boyega says he is not a fan of Rey and Kylo Ren coupling

Look away, Reylo fans! John Boyega has made his stance on the controversial Star Wars pairing of Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver’s Rey and Kylo Ren clear, and it’s safe to say he’s not a fan.

The British actor, who made his Star Wars debut as rogue stormtrooper Finn in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, shares his opinion on the doomed romance while speaking with Happy Sad Confused host Josh Horowitz at the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2) last month.

During the audience Q&A of his panel, Boyega was asked whether Finn and Poe Dameron (played by Oscar Isaac) would have accepted the relationship between Rey and Kylo Ren — formerly known as Ben Solo, the son of Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) — had Kylo/Ben lived.

Boyega immediately responded with a firm “No,” which was met by raucous laughter, before expanding on his answer by framing the pair’s dynamic through a real-life lens.

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

To be clear, Rey and Kylo never became an onscreen couple. Most of the pair’s interactions were of a violent nature as the Sith Lord tried to kill Rey more than once. However, in the third and final film of the trilogy, 2019’s Rise of Skywalker, Kylo strives for redemption after killing his father and abandons the Kylo Ren identity. He helps Rey fight Palpatine and the Sith Eternal, then uses the Force to revive Rey after she’s killed by reflecting Palpatine’s Force lightning at him to kill him for good.

The move leads to a brief kiss between the two initiated by Rey, before Ben Solo dissolves into the Force mere seconds after locking lips.

Boyega doesn’t completely slander the intimate moment; he graciously suggests that the pair’s brief romance “reflects off of the spiritual element to Star Wars, the fact that [Rey] recognized the good and was fighting for it.”

But that ultimately doesn’t change his mind — and nor would it change Finn’s. “If I was Finn there, Finn should’ve had a line where he’d say, ‘Girl, leave him be. Come home with me,'” Boyega cheekily concluded.

Although Boyega has been critical of Disney’s handling of his Star Wars character, it’s clear the franchise alum is still a fan of the universe. When asked about Rey’s return to the big screen in an upcoming film, Boyega was nothing but enthusiastic at seeing Ridley take on the Jedi role in another movie.

“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,” the star said.

“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.”

For more Star Wars news, listen to EW’s Dagobah Dispatch podcast — featuring episode breakdowns of shows like The Mandalorian and exclusive interviews with stars like Pedro Pascal, Diego Luna, and more.

Lucasfilm unveiled plans for new Star Wars movies during April’s Star Wars Celebration fan event. Filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Ms. Marvel) will direct Ridley, whose character will come back to the big screen now as a Jedi master in a film set 15 years after the events of 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker. It’ll be “set in a Jedi academy with a powerful Jedi master,” Obaid-Chinoy said on stage, referring to Rey, whose mission will be to rebuild the Jedi Order.

Since the ill-received Rise of Skywalker, Lucasfilm has largely focused its attention on TV, releasing Disney+ series like The Mandalorian, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor, The Book of Boba Fett. Ahsoka, Skeleton Crew, and the since-canceled series The Acolyte.

While Boyega seemingly won’t appear alongside Ridley in the new film rumored to be titled Star Wars: New Jedi Order, he has said before that he wouldn’t mind returning to the Star Wars universe if Kathleen Kennedy and J.J. Abrams are involved and costars like Ridley or Isaac would appear with him.

Watch Boyega’s whole panel during the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo above.