Ben Solo’s story nearly had a sequel, but Disney and Lucasfilm could not come to an agreement.
Actor Adam Driver revealed that Disney passed on a Ben Solo film despite Lucasfilm’s support. The project, under the working title The Hunt for Ben Solo, was conceived as a direct follow-up to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Driver said he spoke with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy about returning to the role as far back as 2021. He said he would have come back provided the project had “a strong story and a worthy director.”
Driver developed the idea alongside director Steven Soderbergh and writer Rebecca Blunt, with Scott Z. Burns joining the team later. The actor called the script “one of the most impressive I’ve ever been involved with.”
“We presented the script to Lucasfilm — they liked the concept. They fully understood our intentions and why we wanted to tell this story. Then we took it to Bob Iger and Alan Bergman, but they declined. They couldn’t see how Ben Solo could have survived. That was the end of it.”
The film was intended to unfold after The Rise of Skywalker and to explore the consequences of Ben Solo’s redemption — formerly Kylo Ren. Driver said he wanted the character’s arc closed in a more intimate, emotionally focused way, without large-scale battles or spectacle-driven finales.
Director Steven Soderbergh told the AP: “I enjoyed imagining this movie in my head. It’s a pity audiences won’t get to see it.”
Representatives for Disney and Lucasfilm declined to comment on the matter.
Source: iXBT.games