Finn is the male lead in TFA. He is also a male lead in TLJ, but less than he was in the previous movie, NOT because of Kylo or Poe, but because of Luke. In TFA, the movie revolves around Finn until act 3. But TLJ, largely, revolves around Luke and what he represents.

Finn is the main orchestrator and driver of the central plot in TFA. But TFA had a considerably more linear narrative structure than TLJ did. TLJ splits the Force and the Resistance plots. Neither is “lesser,” but the one with Luke automatically has more weight.

The decision to give Luke a more central role over the new characters was partially necessitated by the fact that TFA also hung its central plot over “finding Luke,” and the reasons for both his and the Jedi’s isolation and flaws needed to be investigated and questioned.

TLJ picks up on the thread of bringing Luke back right after we see the Resistance in dire straights. With the Resistance plot being lead by Poe and Leia, and the Force plot being lead by Rey and Luke, where does that leave Finn, our male lead? Rian had to give him his own story

I do think Rian could’ve delved more into Finn’s psyche, his thoughts, feelings and emotions while on Canto Bight with Rose, reflecting on his past as a stormtrooper, his experience with oppression, and his previous belief that he could still escape to freedom in the galaxy.

I think Finn mostly listening and internalizing Rose’s experiences (while it makes sense to me within his arc) give the impression that he’s a passenger instead of the driver, even though this is all for his development, and contribute to the impression of sidelining.

But it's absurd and disingenuous to suggest that Rian forgot about Finn, or sidelined Finn in favor of Kylo, when he had his own plot. Impressions of him being sidelined have more to do with the structure of the film, Luke, and minor flaws of expression in Finn’s individual arc.

Rian saying Kylo is half the protagonist had nothing to do with Kylo being a male lead, which he isn’t. Rian meant that as a way to say that Kylo and Rey are reflections of each other, and that he set out to treat Kylo as a protagonist with the empathy and dedication required.

Meaning, that the protagonists in TLJ, an ensemble movie, are the characters who have some form of development or whose emotional ordeal is given weight: Luke, Rey, Finn, Poe, Kylo, Leia, and Rose. The antagonists like Hux, Phasma, and Snoke, do not get this treatment.

I’m tired of seeing people say that Rian forgot about or considered Kylo more important than Finn, or seeing people say that Poe or Rose took away from Finn’s arc, when the truth is the focus on Luke was given priority over all the new characters, even Rey.

*straits

Adding to this to talk for a second about screentime and to reiterate the point about Ben again. This thread is about Finn basically being “a” male lead in TLJ as opposed to THEE male lead, but he’s still more of one than Kylo.
https://twitter.com/xspaceangelsx/status/1285247459225149442?s=21 https://twitter.com/xspaceangelsx/status/1285247459225149442

The screentime breakdown from TFA and TLJ respectively is shown below. Screentime IS a good reflection of importance of a lead in a film but there’s a lot to take into account, such as the structure of the movie itself. Screentime is NOT a reflection of character development.

As said earlier, Finn is definitively the lead in TFA, over Han who we know is a main but supporting character. TLJ makes Luke central to everything and the star of the movie, not just because the movie centers around him, but also because the 4th act is Luke’s (not kylo’s).

EVERYONE’S screentime is reduced in TLJ, because there are multiple independent plots happening for each of the leads, which lessens their screentime. However, the characters have the spotlight in their own stories. The opposite is true in TROS, where Finn has more time.

TFA highlights both Finn and Rey on their journey, while TROS doesn’t, so It’s not a surefire indicator—it depends on how the film prioritizes growth, which TLJ does the most. The breakdown btw characters is more relevant. Finn is still number 3 behind Luke, reflecting his growth

Ben for most of the movie, in the part where he’s being treated as a protagonist, effectively has the same role as Rose does to Finn. He’s there to spit facts and help Rey find her own path. Which is what Rose does for Finn.

However as I mentioned before, Finn doesn’t get a chance to answer Rose, or verbally work through his feelings the way Rey gets to with Ben. In fact, I still think Rey didn’t get to enough. This is again, more of a writing flaw in their individual arcs than anything else.

It doesn’t mean that Kylo is now the male lead. It means that Kylo had the most ground to cover in his arc based on his actions and his connection to Rey and Luke and he got writing attention that Finn also needed. Kylo Rey and Finn should’ve actually gotten more than they did...

...and they would’ve had if it wasn’t for Luke. As soon as Luke shows up on Crait, it’s about Luke more than Kylo. Kylo is now treated as an antagonist (like Phasma and Snoke) and this scene is for Luke’s arc coming to face his failures and mistakes.