A canceled Star Wars spinoff about Adam Driver’s Ben Solo is once again grabbing attention after director Steven Soderbergh shared new details about what went wrong. The movie, which was reportedly titled The Hunt for Ben Solo, was expected to follow the character’s redemption story after the events of Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker. The project, developed alongside writer Rebecca Blunt and former Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy, never made it past the planning stage before Disney shut it down.
Soderbergh told BK Mag that he and his team worked for more than two years on the concept without pay. He called Disney’s decision to cancel the movie “insane” and said the team was never given much of a reason. “The stated reason was ‘We don’t think Ben Solo could be alive,’” Soderbergh said, adding that the project was stopped before any budget talks even took place. “I had a really good answer for that. But it never even got to that point. It’s insane. We’re all very disappointed.”
Adam Driver’s portrayal of Ben Solo, also known as Kylo Ren, became one of the breakout characters of the sequel trilogy released between 2015 and 2019. The former villain’s transformation into a hero earned strong praise from fans and critics, much more so than Daisy Ridely. Some even hoped to see the character return on screen despite his death in The Rise of Skywalker.
Disney executives Bob Iger and Alan Bergman reportedly played a role in ending the project, concluding that bringing Ben Solo back after his on-screen death would not work. The choice sparked frustration among fans who have seen other Star Wars characters return from apparent death before, including Emperor Palpatine in Episode IX and Darth Maul in Episode I – The Phantom Menace and later animated series.
With Star Wars facing a long gap between theatrical releases, a few fans have expressed renewed interest in a Ben Solo revival. Upcoming projects like The Mandalorian & Grogu and Starfighter continue to generate some excitement among the most faithful, but most believe that a solo movie centered on Adam Driver’s character would only deliver another one of Lucasfilm’s worst projects.
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