John Boyega may have become a critical darling thanks to his role in 2011’s Attack the Block, but he became a household name as Finn in the re-ignited Star Wars franchise thanks to his introduction in 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Now, as the Skywalker Saga is about to draw to a close–and with it, perhaps Finn’s story as a former Stormtrooper-turned-hero of the Resistance–Boyega’s sharing some insight into Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

In a chat with EW, Boyega revealed his reactions to reading the script for the upcoming film for the first time and seeing the evolution of his character over the three films. He also gave readers a peek behind the production process, one which saw writer-director J.J. Abrams loosening up the dialogue a bit. There’s much more over at EW, but here are some of the highlights of Boyega’s commentary:

When Boyega first read Abrams and Chris Terrio‘s script for The Rise of Skywalker, he had to “read the script six more times because there was so much information in there.” Much of that information fills in the gaps left behind by Star Wars: The Last Jedi while continuing the arc for Finn and the rest of the cast of characters. For Finn, he evolves into a more capable soldier rather than the “comedic goofy dude who never gets stuff done”, as Boyega put it.

“I definitely wanted more after Episode VIII. [Rise of Skywalker] makes Finn’s Episode VIII arc make more sense. We got to bring out a side of Finn we haven’t seen.”

Another change that Abrams brought to the production is a looser environment on set. Boyega revealed that the director encouraged improvisation during long, continuous takes:

“J.J. came back with a new energy and new vibe. He wanted dialogue to be messy and natural, and that got all of us really excited.”

That approach can be hit or miss, and normally lands better in comedies or comedic sequences, so we’ll see how it all works out when The Rise of Skywalker opens on December 20th.