Hands down, the best place to get tidbits of information about upcoming films these days is from the social media accounts of the cast and crew. The Internet has given everyone from Bryan Singer to JJ Abrams a platform to entice fans with bread crumbs of knowledge. Each one will spark hours – sometimes days – of speculation.
The latest reveal comes from none other than John Boyega himself. Days ago, Boyega dropped this image on Instagram with precisely zero fanfare:
WARNING: SPOILERS, I GUESS?
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That”s definitely Finn standing side-by-side with Chewbacca, ready to face the First Order (or some other foe). You can also barely make out Rey's (Daisy Ridley) staff in the foreground. But who cares about that? Finn is wielding a blaster! A shiny new type that has yet to be seen in the Star Wars galaxy!
While Finn”s weapon shares some characteristics with the Rebel blaster (DH-17) from the original trilogy, the blue lights indicate some serious upgrades in the last few decades. Will it fire standard red particle beams? Plasma rounds? Or is it electricity based?
More importantly, where did this image come from? Well, it came from a leaked piece of promo art in the Russian LEGO catalogue. One that Lucasfilm has done their level best to scrub from the Internet. Yet here is Boyega – bold as brass – confirming that Finn not only sports a lightsaber at one point, but is proficient with ranged- weapons as well.
Since Finn is decidedly unarmed in the trailers during his flight from Jakku with Rey, how he acquires this blaster and from whom is unknown. The “why” is obviously to protect himself and others. As the blaster is based on previous Rebel technology, it”s a safe bet it isn”t a First Order weapon.