STAR WARS: Adam Driver and Steven Soderbergh developed the film THE HUNT FOR BEN SOLO
After spending the last six years telling Star Wars streaming stories, Lucasfilm is bringing the franchise back to theaters next year with The Mandalorian and Grogu. Star Wars: Starfighter will follow in 2027, although the future beyond these films is less certain.
The news that Simon Kinberg is developing a new trilogy has sparked a mixed response from fans; he was a producer on Star Wars Rebelsbut he is best known for his bombs like Dark Phoenix And Fantastic Four. Projects announced at Star Wars Celebration in 2023 are also in limbo, with a Rey feature, an early Jedi story and Dave Filoni’s “Mando-verse” crossover looking no closer to becoming a reality.
It turns out that another Star Wars the film had been in development for two years. If the reaction on social media is any indication, it would have excited fans far more than any of the projects listed above.
In an interview with AP News (via SFFGazette.com), Star Wars Sequel trilogy star Adam Driver revealed he and filmmaker Steven Soderbergh were developing The Hunt for Ben Solo. Lucasfilm loved it; Disney executives, on the other hand, were less enthusiastic.
“I always wanted to do another Star Wars” The driver told the site. “I’ve been talking about doing another one since 2021. Kathleen [Kennedy] had stretched out his hand. I always said: with a great director and a great story, I’ll be there in a second. I loved this character and I loved playing him.”
To say that he had “unfinished business” with Kylo Ren after the character found redemption and died in the final moments of 2019 The Rise of SkywalkerDriver enlisted Soderbergh, who teamed with screenwriter Rebecca Blunt (Lucky Logan) to discover the story. Scott Z. Burns (Contagion) then began work on the script and presented the film to Kathleen Kennedy, Cary Beck and Dave Filoni of Lucasfilm.
“We presented the script to Lucasfilm. They loved the idea,” Confirmed driver. “They totally understood our point of view and why we were doing it. It was called ‘The Hunt for Ben Solo’ and it was really cool. We pitched it to Bob Iger and Alan Bergman and they said no. They didn’t see how Ben Solo was alive. And that was it.”
Describing the first draft as “one of the coolest fucking scripts I’ve ever been a part of”, while Soderbergh said in a statement: “I really enjoyed making the movie in my head. I’m just sorry the fans won’t be able to see it.”
Kylo Ren is out of the division Star Wars sequel trilogy as one of its most popular characters, and fans were devastated when he was killed off. Still, it was a heroic end for the former Supreme Leader of the First Order as he saved Rey’s life.
A film following his redemption would no doubt have been an extremely exciting prospect for fans, and it’s baffling that Iger and Bergman couldn’t have figured out Ben surviving his injuries when he “died” in the same film that saw Emperor Palpatine rise from the grave.
Explaining his and Soderbergh’s approach to the canceled film, Driver said: “We wanted to be discerning about how to spend money and be frugal with it, and do it for less than most others, but in the same spirit as these films, which are handmade and character-driven.”
“‘Empire Strikes Back’ is, in my opinion, the standard of what those films were,” he continued. “But he is, for me, one of my favorite directors of all time. He lives his code, lives his ethics, doesn’t compromise.”
Are you disappointed that The Hunt for Ben Solo was abandoned by Disney? Let us know your thoughts in the usual place.
