On what seemed like a typical October day, Adam Driver dropped a rather large bombshell on Star Wars fans. Best known for playing Kylo Ren in the sequel trilogy, Driver is one of the most acclaimed actors working today. The Rise of Skywalker seemingly marked the end of his time in the Star Wars franchise, as his character redeemed himself as Ben Solo before dying in the arms of Rey (Daisy Ridley).
Adam Driver revealed that he actually wanted to return to the Star Wars franchise, and even spoke with Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy about it. Not only did Driver have an idea, but he teamed up with acclaimed director Steven Soderbergh to pitch a movie to Disney titled The Hunt for Ben Solo. Despite a fan-favorite actor wanting to return, and a director of critically acclaimed films like Ocean’s 11, Sex, Lies, and Videotapes, and Contagion expressing interest in making a Star Wars movie, Disney CEO Bob Iger turned it down. Given the mixed reaction to The Mandalorian & Grogu trailer, this news united the fractured Star Wars fandom into one collective force to say, “Bob Iger, what were you thinking?”
Somehow, Ben Solo Can’t Return?
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While it is unknown exactly what details of what The Hunt for Ben Solo would have been, in an interview with the Associated Press, Driver described it as “handmade and character-driven,” comparing it to The Empire Strikes Back and calling it “one of the coolest (expletive) scripts I had ever been a part of.” Soderbergh said, “I really enjoyed making the movie in my head. I’m just sorry the fans won’t get to see it.” Scott Z. Burns, who worked with Soderbergh on The Informant!, Contagion, Side Effects, and The Laundromat, joined the project to write the script.
To Lucasfilm’s credit, they seemed to actually want to tackle this approach. Kathleen Kennedy, Lucasfilm President, was the one who reached out to Driver in the first place back in 2021. Soderbergh notably logged many entries in the Star Wars franchise as late as 2024, suggesting he was working on the project at least as recently as last year. Driver revealed that he and Soderberg pitched the idea to Kennedy and other Lucasfilm executives, Dave Filoni, and Carrie Beck. Lucasfilm loved the pitch, but when Driver presented it to Disney’s higher-ups, the idea was rejected. According to Driver, Bob Iger and Alan Bergman turned down The Hunt for Ben Solo because “They didn’t see how Ben Solo was alive, and that was that.”
Obviously, this feels absurd, given that the last Star Wars movie, The Rise of Skywalker, brought back the Emperor with one of the most mocked lines of the 2010s: “Somehow Palpatine returned.” Palpatine can return with no explanation, but Ben Solo can’t? For as mocked as that line might have been, many critics would probably be okay with the same handwave explanation if it serves a good story from an exciting team like Adam Driver and Steven Soderbergh seem to have pitched. The fact that Ben Solo is a dyad in the Force could have been all the explanation needed, also.
The reasoning also feels weird, given that Star Wars has a long history of bringing characters back from the dead. Darth Maul survived being cut in half in The Phantom Menace, and The Book of Boba Fett finally canonized the long-established expanded universe story of Boba Fett crawling out of the Sarlaac pit after his supposed death in Return of the Jedi. At the time of Driver’s revelation, Tron: Ares was playing in theaters and was a huge box-office bomb for Disney. That movie manages to bring Jeff Bridges back as Kevin Flynn, even though his character died in Tron: Legacy. Did Bob Iger not read that script? The idea of Ben Solo being the one character who can’t come back is a poor excuse.
Disney Is Playing It Safe With ‘Star Wars,’ and That’s a Problem
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It is incredibly frustrating that Disney would turn down a Ben Solo movie. Adam Driver is an acclaimed actor who doesn’t seem to be running away from Star Wars, but is, in fact, willing to return to the franchise. Second, it would have been co-written and directed by Steven Soderbergh, a filmmaker with an impressive four-decade resume, who was the youngest solo director to win the Cannes Film Festival’s coveted Palme d’Or prize. One of the most exciting promises of Disney’s acquisition of Star Wars was the prospect of a new generation of filmmakers, those who grew up with the films, putting their stamp on the franchise. But for some reason, Disney didn’t want an acclaimed filmmaker like Soderbergh?
Disney is playing it safe, with Jon Favreau directing The Mandalorian & Grogu, a film adaptation of a television series whose teaser trailer disappointed fans. Following that is Star Wars: Starfighter, directed by Shawn Levy, who is hot off the $1 billion hit Deadpool & Wolverine. No disrespect to Levy, but after delivering a blockbuster hit, Disney obviously trusts him with Star Wars. It’s frustrating to hear Disney give the greenlight to a Star Wars film from the director of Free Guy and Cheaper by the Dozen, yet say no to the director of Ocean’s Eleven, Sex Lies and Videotapes, and Logan Lucky. Right now, the most interesting director Disney has attached to Star Wars is Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy on the long-delayed Daisy Ridley-led Rey movie, if that ever happens.
Soderbergh isn’t even that risky a filmmaker. This isn’t like Adam Driver came to Disney with Jim Jarmusch or Leos Carax (but if he did, that would be fine because either one of them doing a Star Wars film would be worth the price of admission). Soderbergh has plenty of box office hits under his belt, from the Ocean’s trilogy to Erin Brockovich and Magic Mike. In recent years, Soderbergh has largely avoided major studio films, opting instead for smaller budgets for greater creative control. Despite all that, he was willing to work with Disney on a Star Wars project, which speaks to the power of the brand.
At a time when Disney faces fan skepticism about Star Wars, attaching a director known for critically acclaimed titles like Black Bag or Sex, Lies, and Videotapes could generate excitement and help restore trust after several Disney+ series that diluted the brand. By focusing on a fan-favorite and highly marketable character like Ben Solo, the former Kylo Ren, Driver and Soderbergh practically presented Disney with the most appealing pitch a studio could ask for. For some reason, Disney still said no.
Studios Are Hesitant To Trust Acclaimed Directors With Their Franchise Films
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Sadly, the idea of a major franchise film attracting a potential Academy Award-nominated filmmaker only for the studio to turn them down is not unique to Disney. Just last month, it was reported that Steven Spielberg wanted to direct a Call of Duty movie. Instead of jumping at the chance to have one of the most acclaimed filmmakers of all time helming the feature-length film adaptation of their video game property, Activision said no. Let that sink in. Activision turned down Steven Spielberg, director of Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, and Saving Private Ryan, among others.
Paul Thomas Anderson previously spoke about how he loves superhero movies and would be open to directing a blockbuster film, but no studio has asked him. Unlike Martin Scorsese or Kelly Reichardt, who have no interest in franchise filmmaking, there are acclaimed auteur filmmakers like Soderbergh, Anderson, and Spielberg who want to step into these major IP titles and deliver something exciting, one that will draw in general audiences with the IP alone but also pique the interest of skeptics.
Sure, it might require giving these filmmakers a bit more control, and they might not make a “safe” entry, but fortune favors the bold. Spider-Man, The Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, and The Dark Knight trilogy are examples of franchises that took a chance on outside-the-box filmmakers. These filmmakers created something non-traditional to the mainstream blockbuster, which audiences loved, launching long-running franchises. One would think that, after the positive critical and audience reaction to Andor, Disney would be more willing to trust Star Wars to unique creative teams like Tony Gilroy. Instead, they are going for safe bets, like Simon Kinberg writing a new Star Wars trilogy and Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni on The Mandalorian & Grogu, despite a series of diminishing returns.
When Bob Iger left Disney in 2020, he left behind a rather glowing legacy, as the acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and 20th Century Fox led to some of the company’s most profitable films. Yet since returning in 2022 to replace his successor Bob Chapek, Iger’s legacy has now been tarnished with a series of bad decisions ranging from tone-deaf comments made during the WGA strike to pulling Jimmy Kimmel off the air for a short time, and now the poor creative decision not to move forward with one of the most interesting Star Wars pitches in some time. The best way to set things right is to call up Adam Driver and Steven Soderbergh and move forward with The Hunt for Ben Solo.
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