In an interview with the Associated Press to promote his new movie Father Mother Sister Brother, actor Adam Driver dropped a major bombshell about his Star Wars character, Ben Solo/Kylo Ren. The 41-year old disclosed he and director Steven Soderbergh had developed a solo (no pun intended) movie for the character set after The Rise of Skywalker, titled The Hunt for Ben Solo. Disney ultimately rejected the script, questioning how the character could still be alive after his demise in the sequel trilogy’s final movie.
Driver states, “I had been talking about doing another one since 2021. Kathleen [Kennedy] had reached out. I always said: with a great director and a great story, I’d be there in a second. I loved that character and loved playing him.” Soderbergh, who previously directed Driver in 2017’s Logan Lucky, developed the story with his wife Jules Asner (aka Rebecca Blunt), and after it was successfully pitched to Lucasfilm, Scott Z. Burns (who worked with Driver on The Report) was brought on to write the script.
Despite having what Driver claims was “one of the coolest [expletive] scripts I had ever been a part of,” Disney CEO Bob Iger and co-chairman Alan Bergman “said no. They didn’t see how Ben Solo was alive. And that was that. […] It is no more, so I can finally talk about it.” Lucasfilm and Disney declined comment, while Soderbergh added in a statement, “I really enjoyed making the movie in my head. I’m just sorry the fans won’t get to see it.”
Driver says he was surprised Disney would pass on Soderbergh directing a Star Wars movie, while elaborating, “We wanted to be judicial about how to spend money and be economical with it, and do it for less than most but in the same spirit of what those movies are, which is handmade and character-driven. Empire Strikes Back being, in my opinion, the standard of what those movies were. But he is, to me, one of my favorite directors of all time. He lives his code, lives his ethics, doesn’t compromise.”
Disney was perhaps, understandably, relucant to allow another Star Wars character’s resurrection following the backlash to Palpatine’s return in The Rise of Skywalker. Given Driver’s continuing enthusiasm for the role, it is possible Ben can return as a Force ghost in the planned spin-off featuring Daisy Ridley as Rey Skywalker. That film, directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, will pick up 15 years after the sequel trilogy, but currently does not have a release date, and has had George Nolfi, Steven Knight, Damon Lindelof, and Justin Britt-Gibson all contribute to the script.
In the meantime, Star Wars will return to theaters with The Mandalorian and Grogu (set 5-7 years after Return of the Jedi) on May 22, 2026, and Starfighter (which’ll explore the post-Rise of Skywalker era) on May 28, 2027. Other movies in development include Dave Filoni‘s movie that’ll conclude the story of The Mandalorian, Ahsoka et al.; James Mangold‘s Jedi Order origin story; Donald Glover‘s Lando; and undescribed projects from Taika Waititi and Simon Kinberg. Kylo Ren’s post-Last Jedi exploits are also being explored in Marvel‘s Legacy of Vader, issue #10 of which releases November 5.
