Kylo Ren actor Adam Driver recently shared details about a proposed Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker follow-up he developed with director Steven Soderbergh, which was ultimately rejected by Disney. The project was titled The Hunt for Ben Solo.
Driver explained to the Associated Press that since Disney officially declined the movie, he was finally free to discuss it publicly.
Driver portrayed Ben Solo, also known as Kylo Ren, in all three films of Lucasfilm’s Sequel Trilogy, concluding his run in the polarizing 2019 movie, The Rise of Skywalker. He expressed a long-standing interest in another Star Wars project, noting that Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy had reached out to him as early as 2021.
“I always said: with a great director and a great story, I’d be there in a second,” Driver commented. “I loved that character and loved playing him.”
The concept for The Hunt for Ben Solo envisioned a film directed by Soderbergh, picking up after the events of The Rise of Skywalker. Given Ben Solo’s heroic demise at the end of the film—where a mortally wounded Ben used his remaining Force energy to revive Rey before passing away—it’s challenging to imagine his return. Nevertheless, Driver apparently felt his character had unfinished business. An intriguing quote from the interview hints at Driver’s original vision for Kylo Ren’s journey:
Driver had undertaken the trilogy with an arc in mind for Ren that inverted the journey of Darth Vader. As the trilogy evolved, it didn’t play out that way.
The movie pitch was presented to Kathleen Kennedy, Lucasfilm vice president Cary Beck, and Lucasfilm chief creative officer Dave Filoni, who all showed interest. Screenwriter Scott Z. Burns was brought on board to pen the script, which Driver lauded as “one of the coolest scripts I had ever been a part of.” He affirmed that Lucasfilm “loved the idea” and “totally understood our angle and why we were doing it.”
However, Disney CEO Bob Iger and Disney co-chairman Alan Bergman ultimately vetoed the project. “They didn’t see how Ben Solo was alive. And that was that,” Driver stated. Soderbergh expressed his disappointment, telling the Associated Press, “I really enjoyed making the movie in my head. I’m just sorry the fans won’t get to see it.” Disney and Lucasfilm opted not to provide further comment.
Driver seemed puzzled by the decision, emphasizing that their plan was 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.” He cited the beloved Empire Strikes Back as the “standard of what those movies were.”
Unfortunately for this particular pitch, Disney and Lucasfilm have charted a different course for the franchise. 2026 is slated to bring The Mandalorian and Grogu, the first Star Wars movie to hit theaters since The Rise of Skywalker in 2019. This will be followed in 2027 by Ryan Gosling’s Star Wars: Starfighter. While several other Star Wars films have been announced, fan speculation remains high regarding which ones will actually come to fruition.
Just last week, Star Wars creator George Lucas, now 81, revealed he has moved past his desire to manage the franchise, 13 years after selling his sci-fi universe to Disney for $4 billion in 2012. The deal included everything from Industrial Light & Magic to Skywalker Sound. Since then, Disney has produced the Sequel Trilogy, two A Star Wars Story films, and a host of popular TV series like The Mandalorian, Andor, and Ahsoka.
Last year, Lucas hinted that Star Wars’ new leadership made significant missteps with the Sequel Trilogy. “I was the one who really knew what Star Wars was,” he stated, “… who actually knew this world, because there’s a lot to it. The Force, for example, nobody understood the Force. When they started other ones after I sold the company, a lot of the ideas that were in [the original] sort of got lost. But that’s the way it is. You give it up, you give it up.”
In February, current Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy addressed reports of her impending retirement in 2025. Despite indications that the veteran producer was planning to step down at the end of her contract, she vehemently denied the claims.
Deadline had reported that Kennedy was collaborating with Bob Iger on a succession plan, with Star Wars Rebels creator and current Lucasfilm chief creative officer Dave Filoni positioned as a strong contender for the role. However, Kennedy asserted, “The truth is, and I want to just say loud and clear, I am not retiring.”
“I will never retire from movies,” she continued. “I will die making movies. That is the first thing that’s important to say. I am not retiring.”
As for Adam Driver, his journey with Star Wars appears to have concluded. This is despite Daisy Ridley’s character, Rey Skywalker, being slated to appear in several forthcoming Star Wars projects. Ridley is confirmed for one such film: a Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy-directed sequel to The Rise of Skywalker, which will chronicle Rey’s efforts to rebuild the Jedi Order approximately 15 years after the final film of the sequel trilogy.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.