Adam Driver and Steven Soderbergh almost brought their own twist to a galaxy far, far away.
In a recent sit down with AP, Driver said that over the span of two years, he and Soderbergh developed a script called “The Hunt for Ben Solo.” The film would have taken place after the events of “The Rise of Skywalker,” and followed Driver’s Kylo Ren, aka Ben Solo, on a search for redemption.
Soderbergh roughed out the story with “Logan Lucky” screenwriter Rebecca Blunt. Scott Z. Burns later joined to pen the script.
“I always was interested in doing another ‘Star Wars,’” Driver said. “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 described the film as “handmade and character-driven,” comparing it to 1980’s “The Empire Strikes Back.” The “White Noise” star said that that film is the “standard” of what a “Star Wars” movie should be.”
Soderbergh and Driver pitched “The Hunt for Ben Solo” to Kathleen Kennedy, Dave Filoni and Cary Beck at Lucasfilm, who “loved the idea.” However, when they took the script over to Disney, they were shut down.
“We presented the script to Lucasfilm. They loved the idea,” Driver recalled. “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.”
Lucasfilm declined to comment.
Soderbergh told AP of the experience, “I really enjoyed making the movie in my head. I’m just sorry the fans won’t get to see it.” Driver agreed, calling the project “one of the coolest (expletive) scripts I had ever been a part of.”
Driver debuted as Kylo Ren in 2015’s “The Force Awakens,” and reprised the role in 2017’s “The Last Jedi” and 2019’s “The Rise of Skywalker.”
Read Driver’s entire interview with AP here.