Adam Driver Says He’s Done With STAR WARS After Disney Killed THE HUNT FOR BEN SOLO: “The Ship Has Sailed”
If you were still holding out hope that Adam Driver might return to the Star Wars universe as Kylo Ren, it might be time to let that go. The actor has made it pretty clear that his days playing Ben Solo are finished, and the scrapped movie The Hunt for Ben Solo isn't getting a second chance anytime soon.
During a recent appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, Driver was asked whether he could see himself returning to the franchise. His answer was about as straightforward as it gets.
“Yeah, it’s over… No more Star Wars.” Driver explained that he and Steven Soderbergh had already tried to make another movie happen, but Disney wasn't interested.
“We tried to do one more,” Driver said, adding that the studio executives essentially shut down the idea because “they’re like, ‘No, he’s dead.’”
The proposed film, The Hunt for Ben Solo, would have brought Driver back as the former Kylo Ren following his apparent death in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Soderbergh was attached to direct, and the project had been developed over several years before Disney executives Bob Iger and Alan Bergman ultimately rejected it.
Driver previously explained how far the project had gotten before Disney pulled the plug. “I always was interested in doing another Star Wars, We presented the script to Lucasfilm. They loved the idea.
“They totally understood our angle and why we were doing it. We took it to Bob Iger and Alan Bergman, and they said no. They didn’t see how Ben Solo was alive. And that was that.”
What'sfrustrating for fans is that this wasn't just some loose idea Driver and Soderbergh tossed around. They had spent years developing an actual screenplay with Scott Burns and Rebecca Blunt, and Driver was genuinely excited about what they'd created.
“We worked on it for a few years, really and earnestly. We got a script together that was really good with Scott Burns, Rebecca Blunt, and Soderbergh and I. We all worked on it… It was awesome. It was really cool. But you know, I don’t get to decide.”
Considering how easily characters have returned from the dead throughout Star Wars history, it's a little funny that Ben Solo's death was apparently the dealbreaker. The filmmakers clearly had an explanation in mind, but Disney wasn't willing to explore it.
Eisen pushed a little further, asking whether Driver would reconsider if the studio decided to revive the project. “If they wanted to, fine. But we’re not… It’s not our call,” Driver responded. “I think the ship has sailed though.”
Driver also addressed the passionate fan campaign that erupted after news of the canceled movie became public. Fans weren't content to simply complain online. Some actually paid to have a plane fly over Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California, carrying a banner that read “Save The Hunt for Ben Solo.”
The reaction caught Driver by surprise, saying: “I didn’t expect that it was going to be billboards and people flying planes over Disney and things like that. That was pretty cool.”
Soderbergh appears to have moved on as well. Back in April, the filmmaker suggested that anyone hoping Disney might reverse its decision shouldn't count on it. He said the movie “would have happened” “if it was gonna happen.”
That's a disappointing outcome for a Star Wars project that had an interested star, an acclaimed director, a completed script, and support from Lucasfilm.
Ben Solo's redemption was one of the major storylines in the sequel trilogy, and Driver's performance was easily one of its strongest elements. A standalone film exploring what happened to him after The Rise of Skywalker could have given the character an interesting new chapter, especially with Soderbergh directing.
Unfortunately, Disney decided otherwise, and Driver doesn't seem interested in spending any more time trying to convince the studio.
For now, The Hunt for Ben Solo remains one of those interesting Star Wars movies we'll probably never get to see.