Murray reached the title match in Paris for the first time with a comprehensive 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 semifinal win over the Swiss title-holder who was on a 12-match winning streak in the tournament.
The Scot is the 10th man in the Open era, since 1968, to reach the final at all four Grand Slam events.
Djokovic earlier won through to his fourth French Open final with a one-sided 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 win over Dominic Thiem of Austria.
Sunday's two 29-year-old finalists have already played each other in six Grand Slam finals with Djokovic winning four times in Australia and Murray emerging on top at the US Open and Wimbledon.
Murray is the first British player to reach the French Open final since Bunny Austin in 1937 and on Sunday he will try to become the first British winner of the tournament since Fred Perry in 1935.
“I knew today that if I wanted to win I would have to play one of my best claycourt matches. Stan's record here the last couple of years is unbelievable,” he said.
“I am extremely proud. I never expected to reach the final here. I always struggled on clay, but in the last few years I have had some of my best results (on clay).”
Murray and Wawrinka had played each other 15 times with Murray leading 8-7, although Wawrinka had taken their last three encounters including a straight sets quarterfinal victory at the 2013 US Open.
Murray got off to the better start, breaking serve in the third game and that proved to be enough for him to pocket the first set in a hotly-disputed 10th game where Wawrinka had break points to level.
The second set followed a similar pattern with Murray breaking in the third game, but this time the two-time major champion made it back-to-back breaks as he pulled 5-1 clear.
The Scot served out comfortably for the second set and he was in complete control of the match at that stage with Wawrinka struggling to cope with his pace and power.
The Swiss player staved off two break points in the third game of the third set and he gained some energy from a centre-court crowd largely pulling for him.
Murray was winning 84 percent of the points on his first serve, but he finally stumbled at 4-5 down with a couple of unforced errors that allowed Wawrinka to get the break he needed to stay in the match.
The comeback was short-lived, however, as Murray broke serve to open the fourth set and he quickly opened up a 2-0 lead.
Wawrinka then played a dismal service game to allow Murray to pull 5-2 clear and it was all over shortly after that.
TENNIS
Swiss champ Wawrinka loses semifinal to Murray
Andy Murray will play Novak Djokovic in the French Open final after the second seed ended Stan Wawrinka's reign as the champion at Roland Garros on Friday.
ROGER FEDERER
Is this the end of the road for Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer?
Roger Federer is talking optimistically about returning to his "highest level" after knee surgery, but does tennis have to start adjusting to a future without the Swiss star?
The 20-time Grand Slam winner announced on Wednesday that he would be sidelined until 2021 after his second operation in a matter of months.
Federer remains upbeat, tweeting: “I plan to take the necessary time to be 100 percent ready to play at my highest level.”
In some ways 2020 is a good season to miss after the coronavirus ravaged the tennis schedule. Writing Federer off in the past has proved dangerous.
He returned from a six-month injury lay-off to claim the Australian Open in 2017, winning his eighth Wimbledon crown later that year.
But he will be 40 in 2021 and is now heading into uncharted territory.
Despite his groaning trophy cabinet, there are two factors that will motivate Federer to keep going — the risk of losing his grip on the men's Grand Slam title record and a missing Olympics singles gold medal.
Rafael Nadal has 19 majors, just one shy of Federer's mark and Djokovic has 17.
Spain's Nadal will be fancied to draw level with Federer at the French Open, rescheduled for September, while few would bet against Djokovic winning in New York weeks earlier.
In April, Federer said he was “devastated” when Wimbledon was cancelled for the first time since World War II. Last year he fell agonisingly short at the All England Club, failing to convert two championship points on his own serve against Djokovic.
The Wimbledon grass probably remains his best chance of adding to his Grand Slam collection — he has not won the US Open since 2008 and his only title at Roland Garros came in 2009.
Even though Federer has slipped from the very pinnacle of the game, he is still a major threat to Nadal and Djokovic.
'Golden' ambitions
Last year, the world number four had a 53-10 win-loss record and he reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open in January in his only tournament this year.
Federer, who is still six ATP titles short of Jimmy Connors' all-time record of 109, has one glaring omission from his CV — the Olympic title.
The Swiss won doubles gold in Beijing in 2008 with compatriot Stan Wawrinka but lost in the singles final to Andy Murray in London four years later.
The postponed Tokyo Games will almost certainly be Federer's last opportunity to complete a career “golden” Grand Slam — he will turn 40 on the day of the closing ceremony next year.
Tennis will feel the loss of the elegant Federer keenly when he walks off the court for the last time.
Djokovic and Nadal have been the dominant forces in recent years but the Swiss remains the biggest draw and last month topped Forbes' list of the world's highest-earning athletes.
His last appearance on court was in front of nearly 52,000 fans — touted by organisers as a world record for tennis — at a charity match against Nadal in Cape Town in February.
Federer is nearly always the crowd favourite wherever he plays and has proved a perfect ambassador for the sport since he won his first Grand Slam title in 2003.
He certainly expects to be back and competitive next year.
“I will be missing my fans and the tour dearly but I will look forward to seeing everyone back on tour at the start of the 2021 season,” he tweeted.
The avalanche of support from his adoring fans showed they would miss him too, but they will have to get used to a time when he is gone for good.
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