There are several upcoming Star Wars movies that are on the docket, while the fates of others remain unclear. What’s known with certainty, for now, though is that Steven Soderbergh and Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren-centric film isn’t happening. Driver went viral after revealing he was developing The Hunt for Ben Solo alongside the acclaimed director. Ultimately, the powers that be passed on the project, and it simply remains a pipe dream for now. Despite that, Soderbergh has an admirable take on crafting the scrapped flick.
While Soderbergh hasn’t shared many specific story details on Hunt for Ben Solo, he has been clear about the fact that a lot of work went into getting the script off the ground. That screenplay came up again while the Black Bag helmer was speaking with Variety. During the interview, Soderbergh was asked about what he learned from the process of trying to get that Star Wars movie off the ground. Soderbergh shared a lovely perspective while also revealing that Driver “felt bad” about getting him involved once the cancellation down:
That there’s no such thing as wasted creative time. It was great to work on that with Adam Driver and [writers] Rebecca Blunt and Scott Burns. Sometimes that’s just the way things go. I know what we came up with was good. I think it would have excited audiences. Working with smart people, trying to solve shit, is how you get better. Adam felt bad for having gotten me into it. I think he felt like he wasted my time, and I made it clear to him, ‘Dude, that was not wasted time.’ It’s a problem solving experience that will get applied to everything I do going forward. I’m not upset. I feel positive about everything that we did together.
Now, this sounds like someone who just appreciates the opportunity to work alongside other motivated creatives. I love that Soderbergh doesn’t view the experience as having been “wasted” time and is happy to have worked with Driver, Blunt and Burns. And, of course, another aspect of these comments that’s sweet is the reveal of Soderbergh telling Driver not to feel upset over bringing him into the project only for it to get scrapped. This honestly sounds like the kind of collaborator someone would want to have in their corner.
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Adam Driver was the one to reveal The Hunt for Ben Solo during an interview given last fall and revealed that he, Soderbergh and co. presented the idea to since-retired Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy along with executives Dave Filoni (now co-president) and Carrie Beck. While the trio was apparently ecstatic about the idea, Bob Iger and Alan Bergman at Disney passed on the movie. Steven Soderbergh later revealed that he and Driver talked about the latter discussing the project publicly, and the No Sudden Move helmer simply advised him not to “editorialize” what led to their film being scrapped.
Next to nothing has been shared in regard to plot details on the Ben Solo movie, which is reportedly on the back burner now. Still, it was revealed that the film was to take place after the events of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Even faced with only a few details, more than a few fans eventually started campaigning for the Kylo Ren movie.
By the looks of it, though, Steven Soderbergh has put the kibosh on the SW movie, recently saying that “if it was gonna happen, it would have happened.” It’s a shame fans will probably never get to see this big-screen idea for Kylo Ren realized. Nevertheless, I still love that Soderbergh doesn’t regret his time working on the ill-fated movie. In the meantime, franchise devotees can theorize about what would’ve been next for Ben had the film been made.
Fans can currently check out Adam Driver’s performance as Ben Solo/Kylo Ren by streaming the Star Wars sequel trilogy with a Disney+ subscription.
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