Another Star Wars project has joined the long list of what-could-have-beens. Adam Driver has revealed that he and acclaimed filmmaker Steven Soderbergh (the guy behind Ocean’s Eleven and Traffic) spent two years developing a post-Rise of Skywalker movie titled The Hunt for Ben Solo. And Disney said no.
Speaking to the Associated Press, Driver said the project explored the redemption and survival of his character Kylo Ren after the events of 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker. “I always was interested in doing another Star Wars,” Driver said. “Kathleen [Kennedy] had reached out. I told her — with a great director and a great story, I’d be there in a second. I loved that character.”
That “great director” turned out to be Soderbergh. Working with Contagion writer Scott Z. Burns and Logan Lucky’s Rebecca Blunt, they built what Driver called “one of the coolest f*cking scripts I had ever been a part of.” Lucasfilm reportedly loved it. Disney did not. When the pitch reached Bob Iger and Alan Bergman, they killed it. The reasoning is that they “didn’t see how Ben Solo was alive.” You’d think a universe with blue milk and Force ghosts could handle a resurrection, after all, they resurrected Darth Maul and Emperor Palpatine a bunch of times. But apparently not.
Soderbergh later confirmed the story himself: “I really enjoyed making the movie in my head. I’m just sorry the fans won’t get to see it.”
And suddenly, his obsessive Star Wars rewatch last year makes sense. In his 2024 watchlist, fans spotted The Phantom Menace, Andor, and The Rise of Skywalker among the titles. IndieWire even guessed he might be secretly working on a Lucasfilm project. Turns out, he actually was.
It’s hard not to imagine what The Hunt for Ben Solo could’ve been. Soderbergh has a history of turning commercial ideas into very human stories. He made heists elegant, pandemics terrifying, and Channing Tatum a cultural phenomenon. A filmmaker like that could’ve given the galaxy far, far away a much-needed soul transplant.
Since The Rise of Skywalker in 2019, Star Wars has been spinning its wheels. The film slate remains a rotating door of directors and unrealized ideas, while TV keeps pushing forward. Andor proved that a grounded, character-driven story could work. Heck, when the show’s second season wrapped earlier this year, its viewership jumped nearly 40% by the finale, which is a rarity for streaming. Tony Gilroy fought budget cuts, lost an entire horror-inspired episode, and still managed to make something powerful. Imagine what Soderbergh could’ve done with that kind of creative freedom.
For now, Disney’s got Starfighter from Shawn Levy and The Mandalorian and Grogu on the horizon. Both will probably look great and feel familiar. But when you hear that one of Hollywood’s smartest directors and one of its best actors built a Star Wars film too bold for Disney to make, it’s hard not to sigh.
Maybe one day, The Hunt for Ben Solo will become a reality.
