Poe Dameron actor Oscar Isaac isn't interested in revisiting the Star Wars universe at the present moment. Isaac was one of the actors to join the franchise when Disney revived it in 2015 with Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Isaac's hotshot pilot Poe was a part of the central trio that also included Finn (John Boyega) and Rey (Daisy Ridley), though when director J.J. Abrams initially created him, the plan was for Poe to die in the first film. Nonetheless, Isaac's performance won Abrams over, and Poe went on to appear in all three sequel films. Isaac's last turn as Poe came in 2019's Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
The Rise of Skywalker was met with a decidedly mixed reaction from fans, similar to how most recent Star Wars films were received. Isaac himself said he wasn't surprised by this. In fact, even before The Rise of Skywalker was released, Isaac expressed some disappointment with the direction the films went in, particularly when it came to the fan favorite pairing of Poe and Finn. Fans had hoped the two characters would get together in a romantic relationship and give the franchise some much-needed LGBTQ+ representation, but the idea was never explored.
Isaac recently spoke about his experience with the franchise in a Deadline panel, where he insisted he enjoyed his time making the films. "I enjoyed the challenge of those films and working with a very large group of incredible artists and actors, prop makers, set designers, and all that was really fun," Isaac said. However, if Lucasfilm were to approach him today with a new project for Poe, he likely wouldn't jump at the chance. He joked he would return to the franchise "If I need another house or something," though his longer answer was more thoughtful:
It’s not really what I set out to do. What I set out to do was to make handmade movies, and to work with people that inspire me. Paul [Schrader]’s movies, the things that he’s made, it’s in my DNA. I’m not alone, obviously. [For] every actor of a certain generation, those are the films that made them who they are, so that’s certainly my case. It feels like for me a personal turning point and that, as far as I’m concerned, it has nothing to do with the finished product. It’s the process of doing this.
Isaac referred to director Paul Schrader, with whom he just worked on The Card Counter. That film recently wrapped up production after being delayed by the coronavirus pandemic; at the time of their shutdown, they were only days away from completing filming. Until that comes out, Isaac will next be seen in the highly-anticipated Dune, which is set to begin reshoots in August.
Isaac isn't alone in not being particularly eager to return to Star Wars, as Boyega and Ridley have similarly indicated the same. It makes sense, seeing as The Rise of Skywalker wrapped up their characters' arcs. Fans can debate whether they were satisfying endings, but as things stand with the completed film, Finn, Poe, and Rey have reached their conclusions. Of course, the Star Wars universe is continuously growing, and anything can happen further down the line. Fans will just have to wait and see what comes next.
Source: Deadline