Actor Adam Driver has revealed that both he and filmaker Steven Soderbergh spent two years developing a script for a “Star Wars” spin-off film.
Speaking with the AP, Driver said the script was called “The Hunt for Ben Solo” with events taking place after those of “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”
It would’ve followed Driver’s character Kylo Ren, aka Ben Solo, on a search for redemption. Driver called it “handmade and character-driven” and drew comparisons to “The Empire Strikes Back”.
Soderbergh planned out the story with “Logan Lucky” screenwriter Rebecca Blunt, while his “Contagion” screenwriter Scott Z. Burns also worked on the script.
Driver tells the news outlet: “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.”
Soderbergh and Driver then pitched “The Hunt for Ben Solo” to Kathleen Kennedy, Dave Filoni and Cary Beck at Lucasfilm, the group reportedly were all in. However, when they took the script over to the Disney chiefs, they were shut down.
“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. I really enjoyed making the movie in my head. I’m just sorry the fans won’t get to see it. [It was] one of the coolest (expletive) scripts I had ever been a part of.”
Driver played the role from 2015-2019 across the three films of the sequel trilogy.
