What you need to know
Adam Driver spent two years developing a Star Wars sequel, but now it’s reportedly “no more.”
The 41-year-old actor and producer revealed in an interview with The Associated Press published on Monday, October 20, that he and filmmaker Steven Soderbergh were working on a script for the sequel to the Star Wars trilogy, The Hunt for Ben Solo, in which Driver will star.
“I’ve always been interested in the next Star Wars movie…I’ve always said, if you have a great director and a great story, you’ll be in it right away. I love that character and I loved playing him,” Driver said. He starred in three films as Kylo Ren, aka Ben Solo, ending with the character’s apparent death in 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker.
Soderbergh, 62, Rebecca Blunt and screenwriter Scott Z. Burns worked with the “Megalopolis” star to create “one of the coolest (expletive) scripts I’ve ever been a part of,” he said. However, after Lucasfilm “loved the idea” and expressed interest, the powers that be at Disney nixed the film.
“I brought it to[Disney executives]Bob Iger and Alan Bergman, and they said no. They didn’t see how Ben Solo lived. That was it,” the Oscar nominee recalled. “It was called ‘The Hunt for Ben Solo,’ and it was really great. But now that it’s gone, we can finally talk about it.”
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“It was a lot of fun making the movie in my head, and I’m disappointed that fans won’t get to see it,” Soderbergh said in a statement to The Associated Press.
Daisy Ridley, who played Rey in the Driver trilogy directed by J.J. The next installment in the series, which began with George Lucas’ original 1977 film, is Pedro Pascal’s The Mandalorian and Ryan Gosling’s Grogu (in theaters May 22, 2026). War: Starfighter (released May 28, 2027) and an untitled project from filmmakers Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Dave Filoni, James Mangold, and Taika Waititi.
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Driver had nothing but praise for Soderbergh, who last worked with him on 2017’s “Logan Lucky” and was in the running to direct the “Star Wars” sequel. “He’s one of my favorite managers of all time,” Driver told The Associated Press about Soderbergh. “He upholds his standards, upholds his ethics and does not compromise.”
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The actor’s upcoming projects include Father Mother Sister Brother (out December 24th), Chris Rock’s Misty Green and James Gray’s Paper Tigers.
