The Star Wars franchise is arguably suffering its most difficult period ever since starting with A New Hope way, way back in 1977. Watered down by Disney, the series doesn’t seem too sure about where to go following the deeply divisive sequel trilogy. But it didn’t have to be this way, with Academy Award nominee and Kylo Ren actor Adam Driver having revealed details of what could have been, not only one of the best Star Wars movies ever made, but the one fans really want to see. Sadly, it’s never going to happen.
Introduced in 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Driver’s Kylo Ren is the son of Star Wars icons Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher). Turning to the Dark Side after a misunderstanding with his Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, Kylo Ren, aka Ben Solo, proved to be one of the most interesting characters in the Disney trilogy. After seeing the error of his ways and making a heroic sacrifice at the end of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, fans have wondered whether Ben Solo would ever get the chance to return.
Well, he almost did, is the frustrating answer to that. Despite dying (there are many ways to bring a character back in the Star Wars universe – even by just using the word “somehow…”) Driver was eager to resurrect Kylo Ren, with the actor even reaching out to Academy Award-winning filmmaker Steven Soderbergh to help him do it.
“I always was interested in doing another ‘Star Wars.’ I had been talking about doing another one since 2021. Kathleen (Kennedy) had reached out. I always said: With a great director and a great story, I’d be there in a second. I loved that character and loved playing him.”
Somehow… Disney Said “No” for the Most Ridiculous Reason
Speaking with AP News, Driver reportedly “took a concept to Soderbergh” for a sequel taking place after Rise of Skywalker. The follow-up, which the actor reveals was titled The Hunt for Ben Solo, would have completed what Driver saw as “unfinished business” after his chance to tell an “inverted” version of Darth Vader’s arc didn’t quite pan out as he’d hoped in the Disney trilogy.
Joining forces with Soderbergh and writer Rebecca Blunt to pitch a story to Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy, Cary Beck, and Dave Filoni, The Hunt for Ben Solo was well-received, with The Bourne Ultimatum and Contagion writer Scott Z. Burns hired to write a script. Driver even describes the script as “one of the coolest (expletive) scripts I had ever been a part of.” Sadly, because we aren’t allowed nice things anymore, Disney said “no.”
“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.
It was called ‘The Hunt for Ben Solo’ and it was really cool. But it is no more, so I can finally talk about it.”
A solo Kylo Ren movie would arguably have been a popular choice for the future of Disney’s Star Wars characters, with The House of Mouse currently struggling to get a solo Rey project off the ground. The idea of a filmmaker of Steven Soderbergh’s caliber telling a tale set in a galaxy far, far away, and not getting the chance to do so, is enough to feel the Dark Side creeping in. “I really enjoyed making the movie in my head. I’m just sorry the fans won’t get to see it,” Soderbergh said in a statement. We’re sorry, too.
- Release Date
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December 18, 2019
- Runtime
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142 minutes
- Producers
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Kathleen Kennedy, Michelle Rejwan, J.J. Abrams