Adam Driver’s ‘Star Wars’ Film Gets New Update From ‘Disappointed’ Director

Director Steven Soderbergh is lastly breaking his silence on “The Hunt for Ben Solo.” The venture was formally introduced by Adam Driver final yr. The “Star Wars” actor revealed that he and Soderbergh had labored on the venture for about two years earlier than it was scrapped by prime Disney execs, who didn’t perceive how his character, Ben Solo, may nonetheless be alive after the occasions of 2019’s “The Rise of Skywalker.”

The sequel trilogy kicked off with 2015’s “The Drive Awakens,” wherein Adam Driver performed the villainous Kylo Ren. He continued the function in 2017’s “The Final Jedi,” however was ultimately redeemed in 2019’s “The Rise of Skywalker.” Sadly, he gave his life drive to Rey (Daisy Ridley) after defeating Emperor Palpatine with a view to deliver her again to life, and seemingly light into the Drive himself.

Though Lucasfilm accredited the thought, Disney executives later pulled the plug, saying they didn’t perceive how Ben Solo may nonetheless be alive. In a brand new interview with BK Mag, the Oscar-winning filmmaker stated, “It was no shock” to listen to that former Lucasfilm exec Kathleen Kennedy was pissed off by the movie’s cancellation throughout her exit interview.

“We had been all pissed off,” Soderbergh stated. “You understand, that was two and a half years of free work for me and Adam and [writer] Rebecca Blunt. When Adam and I mentioned him speaking about it publicly, I stated, ‘Look, don’t editorialize or speculate concerning the why. Simply say what occurred, as a result of all we all know is what occurred.’ The acknowledged purpose was, ‘We don’t assume Ben Solo might be alive.’ And that was all we had been informed. And so there’s nothing to do about it, you recognize, besides transfer on.”

“I’d form of made the film in my head, and simply felt unhealthy that no one else was going to get to see it,” he continued. “I assumed the dialog was strictly going to be a sensible one—the place they go, what is that this going to price? And I had a very good reply for that. But it surely by no means even received to that time. It’s insane. We’re all very dissatisfied.”

In October 2025, followers had been shocked to listen to Adam Driver reveal that the film had been within the works when he was selling his newest movie, “Father Mom Sister Brother,” in an interview with the Associated Press.

“I at all times was taken with doing one other ‘Star Wars,’” Driver stated. “I had been speaking about doing one other one since 2021. Kathleen (Kennedy) had reached out. I at all times stated: With an amazing director and an amazing story, I’d be there in a second. I cherished that character and cherished enjoying him.”

Soderbergh and Rebecca Blunt outlined a narrative that was pitched to Kennedy, Lucasfilm vice chairman Cary Beck, and Lucasfilm chief artistic officer Dave Filoni. Scott Z. Burns was introduced in to jot down the script, which Driver known as “one of many coolest (expletive) scripts I had ever been part of.”

“We offered the script to Lucasfilm. They cherished the thought. They completely understood our angle and why we had been doing it,” Driver says. “We took it to Bob Iger and Alan Bergman, and so they stated no. They didn’t see how Ben Solo was alive. And that was that.”

“It was known as ‘The Hunt for Ben Solo,’ and it was actually cool,” he added. “However it’s no extra, so I can lastly speak about it.” Though he didn’t reveal a lot of the movie’s plot, he did emphasize that it was going to be a character-driven movie alongside the strains of “The Empire Strikes Again.”

“We needed to be judicial about spend cash and be economical with it, and do it for lower than most however in the identical spirit of what these films are, which is handmade and character-driven,” Driver says. “‘Empire Strikes Again’ being, in my view, the usual of what these films had been. However he’s, to me, one in all my favourite administrators of all time. He lives his code, lives his ethics, doesn’t compromise.”

On the time, Soderbergh launched his personal assertion, saying, “I actually loved making the film in my head. I’m simply sorry the followers received’t get to see it.”