A Star Wars film directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Adam Driver was reportedly shut down by Disney, despite initial enthusiasm from Lucasfilm executives.
In a new interview with the Associated Press, Driver revealed that he and Soderbergh spent two years developing a script titled The Hunt for Ben Solo, a sequel set after The Rise of Skywalker that would have followed Driver’s Kylo Ren, reborn as Ben Solo, on a search for redemption.
The project was conceived by Soderbergh and Logan Lucky screenwriter Rebecca Blunt, with Scott Z. Burns later joining to write the script. According to Driver, the story was “handmade and character-driven,” drawing inspiration from The Empire Strikes Back.
“I always said, with a great director and a great story, I’d be there in a second,” Driver said. “I loved that character and loved playing him.”
Driver said Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, executive Dave Filoni, and development head Cary Beck “loved the idea,” but the project stalled when Disney executives Bob Iger and Alan Bergman turned it down. “They didn’t see how Ben Solo was alive. And that was that,” Driver explained. Lucasfilm declined to comment.
Soderbergh later confirmed the project’s existence on BlueSky, writing, “For the record, I did not enjoy lying about the existence of The Hunt for Ben Solo, but it really did need to remain a secret… until now!” He added that Kennedy told him Disney had never before rejected a completed Lucasfilm script submission.
“I really enjoyed making the movie in my head,” Soderbergh told AP. “I’m just sorry the fans won’t get to see it.” Driver echoed that sentiment, calling it “one of the coolest [expletive] scripts I had ever been a part of.”
The film’s rejection has already sparked fan backlash. On Friday, Collider reported that a group of Star Wars fans funded a plane to fly a “Save ‘The Hunt for Ben Solo’” banner over Disney’s Burbank studio.
Driver debuted as Kylo Ren in The Force Awakens (2015) and reprised the role in The Last Jedi (2017) and The Rise of Skywalker (2019). The Hunt for Ben Solo would have marked his return to the franchise and Soderbergh’s first venture into it.