TWITTER/GETTY Oscar Issacs and John Boyega fan the romance rumours

UPDATE: JJ Abrams has spoken out for the first time to address the growing fan rumours and petitions for gay characters in the Star Wars universe. “To me, the fun of Star Wars is the glory of possibility," he says. "So it seems insanely narrow-minded and counterintuitive to say that there wouldn’t be a homosexual character in that world.”

Star Wars 8: Explosive new Last Jedi pictures revealed in trailer Tue, October 10, 2017 STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI is ready to hit cinemas - see all the latest pictures from the newest Episode 8 trailer. Play slideshow LUCASFILM 1 of 54 Star Wars 8 Last Jedi: Click through for the latest images

“When I talk about inclusivity it’s not excluding gay characters," he added. "It’s about inclusivity. So, of course.” The mounting fan obsession with a Finn and Poe romance was only encouraged by the growing bromance between the two actors, Boyega and Isaacs, who have embraced the idea of a new kind of Star Wars love story. Isaacs even revealed recently that he was "playing romance" in his cockpit scenes with his handsome co-star in The Force Awakens.

DISNEY A 'touching' scene...

FAN ART Poe and Finn fan art

Boyega admitted that he was looking to the director of Episode VIII, Rian Johnson, for cues as to what direction the relationship will take. "I’m looking at the director Rian closely so he can get me involved early, so I can prepare myself. So who knows?" he said. A new video posted online by Boyega only added to the speculation.

Carrie Fisher in pictures Tue, April 18, 2017 Carrie Fisher, best known for her role as Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy, died suddenly in December 2016 aged 60. Celebrate her life in pictures. Play slideshow Star Wars 1 of 26 Carrie Fisher in Star Wars

"Yeah baby, go on, give it to me," cries Oscar Isaacs to John Boyega in the fun clip. We are kidding you not, it's right there on John Boyega's Twitter page. OK, so the new video is of the pair working out in the gym, but it prompted Boyega to reveal his thoughts on the potential romance. "I posted a video the other day of myself working out, skipping, and in the background Oscar is just like, 'Yeah baby go on' and people just went crazy," he said. WATCH BOYEGA'S TWITTER VIDEO NEXT:

@mrcalliet influenced my cardio routine today. Doesn't hurt that I have Oscar Isaac in the background cheering me on pic.twitter.com/RzEpG5Zy9Z — John Boyega (@JohnBoyega) February 11, 2016

The recent BAFTA winner says it's entirely possible the director of Episode VIII will take their relationship in this new and surprising direction. "As far as I’m concerned when JJ [Abrams] sat us down to go through the script, it was a bromance, but now I’m learning what Mark Hamill said before when he didn’t know that Darth Vader was Luke’s father: you never know what they’re going to pull." Fan-made videos splicing together scenes of the two characters in The Force Awakens have proliferated on the internet. Fan art has also portrayed the pair as a romantic couple, with the director of the next film, Rian Johnson, happily retweeting some of the images. NEXT: A FAN VIDEO OF THE FINN AND POE ROMANCE

Isaac, himself, fanned the rumours during a recent interview with Ellen. "I was playing romance. In the cockpit I was playing romance,” he said. Anyone who has seen The Force Awakens will know that Poe was only ever in the cockpit with ONE character throughout the whole film, a certain plucky rebel Stormtrooper. “I think it’s very subtle romance that’s happening," Isaac added. "You have to watch it a few times to see the little hints."

WARNING: MINOR SPOILERS Let's not forget that Poe gives Finn his name as he 'comes out' from the shadow of the First Order and assumes his new identity. Fans have backed up the growing theory with the romantic notion of Poe giving Finn his jacket, rather like a gentleman lending a lady his coat. It's something that Finn treasures throughout the film. Screen grabs of allegedly loaded looks between Poe and Finn have added to the rumours. And that's all before the joyously affectionate reunion of the two characters later in the film. Fans have started to create romantic art pairing up the two handsome leads, so could the famous franchise be poised to break the biggest barrier of all?

Can you guess the celebrity from their yearbook picture? Fri, June 10, 2016 Can you guess the celebrity from their yearbook picture? Play slideshow PaulFraserCollectibles/BNPS 1 of 90 Can you spot Marilyn Monroe in her year photo?

The Force Awakens smashed blockbuster and big screen convention by boldly placing a woman and a black man front and centre of a major franchise. Is a major gay lead character a step too far? Received wisdom in Hollywood has long believed that women can not carry a movie. Recent comedies like Bridesmaids and Jennifer Lawrence's triumphant Hunger Games franchise have finally put that to rest.

ELLEN 'I was playing romance" Oscar Isaacs (far left) told Ellen

The sight of a black actor carrying a blockbuster franchise could also have been seen as a risk, and yet Boyega is riding high at the heart of the new Star Wars film. The Force Awakens has smashed every box office record since its release which implies that nothing can derail the success of the new trilogy. But don't look for a major gay revelation any time soon. Major markets like Russia, Asia and, crucially, China are far less accepting of anything that supports or promotes homosexuality. WATCH OUR LIVE REVIEW OF THE FORCE AWAKENS NEXT:

China is already the fastest-growing film market in the world and is on course to become the biggest. Only a small number of foreign films are approved for release each year in China, so Hollywood faces a potential loss of hundreds of millions of dollars if a film won’t be screened there. Positive depictions of gay relationships are generally censored by the Chinese film board and Disney have invested a whopping $4billion in the Star Wars franchise. Any kind of risk with such a sensitive market seems highly unlikely.