Lucasfilm
During a recent interview to promote his upcoming movie Father Mother Sister Brother, Academy Award nominated actor Adam Driver revealed that he and acclaimed director Steven Soderbergh pitched a Star Wars spinoff film based on his character Kylo Ren/Ben Solo, and that Disney CEO Bob Iger shot it down.
According to the 41-year-old Adam Driver — who starred as Kylo Ren/Ben Solo in the sequel trilogy of Star Wars films — he and Soderbergh spent time developing a project called The Hunt for Ben Solo, which would have been set after the events of 2019’s widely-panned The Rise of Skywalker and was “one of the coolest f—— scripts” he’s ever been a part of.
The Academy Award-winning Soderbergh, 62 years old, has been writing, directing and producing in Hollywood since the late 1980s and is best known for his work on the Ocean’s 11 trilogy, Out of Sight, Erin Brockovich, Traffic, Contagion, Magic Mike, Logan Lucky, and more.
Adam Driver reveals that Disney turned down a pitch for a Kylo Ren/Ben Solo movie from him and acclaimed director Steven Soderbergh
“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,” Driver told The Associated Press.
“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.”
Soderbergh provided an additional statement to the Associated Press, saying “I really enjoyed making the movie in my head. I’m just sorry the fans won’t get to see it.”
knowing adam driver wanted to come back as ben solo and disney wouldn’t let himpic.twitter.com/4uwvIdEyJF
— Hammie (@balancedpadawan) October 20, 2025
Disney gave Shawn Levy a Star Wars movie from a repurposed Patty Jenkins script instead of a Steven Soderbergh Ben Solo film that Driver personally pitched to them https://t.co/XtJgxIvkdG pic.twitter.com/6u4yRpj4rw
— anish (@filmicshailar) October 20, 2025
SO ADAM DRIVER LOVED BEN SOLO SO MUCH HE HIMSELF HAD A HAND IN TRYING TO DEVELOP A MOVIE FOR HIM TO COME BACK FOR 2 YEARS AND DISNEY TURNED HIM DOWN!?!! pic.twitter.com/VPyBG0xnKY
— Josie ✨ (@adamdriversputa) October 20, 2025
The aspect of Driver’s revelation that has angered fans most, though, is Disney’s apparent resistance to the idea because they “didn’t see how Ben Solo was alive” considering Star Wars’ history of resurrecting seemingly dead characters, with it happening numerous times under the Disney regime.
The most infamous example, of course, is Emperor Palpatine returning in The Rise of Skywalker, which was explained by Oscar Isaac’s character absurdly stating that “Somehow Palpatine returned.”
Disney: We don’t see how Ben Solo could be alive post Episode IX
Meanwhile, in Star Wars:#TheHuntForBenSolo pic.twitter.com/UUu3vFhm08
— thrawna’del’rey 🇵🇸 (@thrawnadelrey) October 20, 2025
Further exasperating the frustration is the fact that the next Star Wars movie, and the first since The Rise of Skywalker, is The Mandalorian & Grogu, which has failed to generate virtually any excitement from fans of the franchise with its lame first trailer.