Adam Driver and Steven Soderbergh almost brought their own twist to a galaxy far, far away.
In a recent conversation with The Associated Press, Driver said he and Soderbergh spent two years developing the script for “The Hunt for Ben Solo.” The film was supposed to take place after the events of The Rise of Skywalker and follow the driver, Kylo Ren, aka Ben Solo, on a quest for salvation.
Soderbergh worked with “Logan Lucky” screenwriter Rebecca Brandt to roughly develop the story. Scott Z. Burns later joined in writing the screenplay.
“I always wanted to do Star Wars again,” Driver said. “We’ve been talking about doing the next one since 2021. Kathleen[Kennedy]contacted me. I always said, ‘If you have a great director and a great story, it’s going to happen.'” I loved that character and loved playing him. ”
Driver compared the film to 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back, calling it “homemade and character-driven.” The “White Noise” star said that movie was a “standard” for what a “Star Wars” movie should be. ”
Soderbergh and Driver pitched “The Hunt for Ben Solo” to Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy, Dave Filoni, and Cary Beck, who “loved the idea.” However, when he took the script to Disney, it was canceled.
“We submitted the script to Lucasfilm, and they really liked the idea,” Driver recalls. “They completely 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 understand how Ben Solo lived, and that was it.”
Lucasfilm declined to comment.
Soderbergh told The Associated Press of the experience, “It was really fun making the movie in my head. I’m disappointed that the fans won’t be able to see it.” Driver agreed, calling the project “one of the coolest (expletive) scripts I’ve ever been a part of.”
Driver made his debut as Kylo Ren in 2015’s The Force Awakens, and reprized the role in 2017’s The Last Jedi and 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker.
You can read Driver’s full interview with AP here.
