Credit: LucasfilmIt’s been several months since we learned that Disney pulled the plug on one hyped Star Wars project, but we’re still learning more about the studio’s wildly unpopular decision.
Back in 2025, Adam Driver shocked fans with the revelation that he had worked with screenwriter and director Steven Soderbergh to develop a brand-new film following Ben Solo. “I loved that character and loved playing him,” Driver told AP News. “We presented the script to Lucasfilm. They loved the idea. … 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.”
The film in question was called The Hunt for Ben Solo and would’ve taken place after Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019). The last film of the Skywalker Saga ended with Ben Solo saving Rey’s (Daisy Ridley) life and the pair sharing a kiss before Driver’s character dies. This wrapped up a redemption arc for the character, who started the trilogy as the villainous Kylo Ren, who killed his father, Han Solo (Harrison Ford), to cement his alliance to the Dark Side.
Star Wars hasn’t exactly held back from reviving seemingly dead characters in the past. Darth Maul and Palpatine have both “somehow” come back from on-screen deaths. That’s why so many fans were infuriated that Disney would reject a similar opportunity for Ben Solo – especially when the character has proven so popular.
More Information Revealed About ‘The Hunt for Ben Solo’ Cancellation
Now, we have even more information about Disney’s decision to axe the Star Wars movie.
Following the exiting Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy’s revelation to Deadline that the script was “great,” BKMag asked Steven Soderbergh about the project, to which he revealed that they were “frustrated” by the move.
“That was two and a half years of free work for me and Adam and Rebecca Blunt,” Soderbergh said. “When Adam and I discussed him talking about it publicly, I said, ‘Look, do not editorialize or speculate about the why. Just say what happened, because all we know is what happened.’ The stated reason was ‘We don’t think Ben Solo could be alive.’ And that was all we were told. And so there’s nothing to do about it, you know, except move on.”
Some had previously theorized that Disney axed the film due to budget reasons. The Rise of Skywalker and its predecessors were all famously expensive, while the studio’s newest cinematic project, The Mandalorian & Grogu, was made with a fraction of the production budget. However, Soderbergh confirmed that Disney made the decision before even beginning a conversation about costs.
“I thought the conversation was strictly going to be a practical one – where they go, what is this going to cost?” he said. “And I had a really good answer for that. But it never even got to that point. It’s insane. We’re all very disappointed.”
Soderbergh also added, “I’d kind of made the movie in my head, and just felt bad that nobody else was going to get to see it.”
Fans Continue To Push For Ben Solo Revival
Of course, the Star Wars fandom has never been one to give up without a fight.
Since the news dropped of The Hunt for Ben Solo, fans have continued to push for Disney to reconsider. This has involved everything from missing-person posters featuring Ben Solo’s face to a plane flying over the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank bearing the message, “Save the Hunt for Ben Solo.”
The Hollywood Reporter has since noted that “a sequel-sequel trilogy feels inevitable,” considering the frenzy around recent reports. Fans also took a line in a recent Star Wars comic – “The Reign Ends. The Fall Begins. Kylo Ren… Will Return” – as a positive sign about the character’s future.
Other sequel trilogy actors have also chipped in on the conversation.
Daisy Ridley revealed that she had heard whispers about the film’s existence, and was more shocked that Driver was the one to confirm as much. “I have lots of friends who are crew, so things always travel like that,” she told IGN in December. “But, whoa! When the story came out, no, I was like, ‘Oh, my God!’ And it was him that said it, right? It was funny because, like, ‘Oh, wow, Adam is saying it,’ and that’s the big surprise of the year.”
As announced at Star Wars Celebration in 2023, Ridley is set to lead her own standalone Star Wars film. The project in question is said to follow Rey as she attempts to rebuild the Jedi Order, roughly 15 years after the end of The Rise of Skywalker.
The project has faced multiple setbacks since its announcement, cycling through a string of screenwriters. With no release date on the cards, some fans have expressed fears that Lucasfilm will continue its long-standing habit of quietly abandoning confirmed projects. Ridley’s most recent updates didn’t do much to quell these fears, with the actress suggesting we won’t hear any news in 2026. She did, however, confirm that it will be “worth the wait.”
Some Star Wars fans have taken the confusing production process of the Rey film as proof that it was at one point supposed to tie into The Hunt for Ben Solo. There are those who remain hopeful that Lucasfilm will fold the two projects together, with Driver reprising the role of Ben Solo by Ridley’s side.
With Bob Iger soon departing as Disney CEO, there are also those who remain hopeful that his successor, Josh D’Amaro, will have a warmer sentiment towards bringing Ben Solo back from the dead.
How do you feel about Disney axing The Hunt for Ben Solo?