A surprising new chapter in the ongoing Star Wars saga behind the scenes has come to light, and it involves a project many fans didn’t even know existed: The Hunt for Ben Solo. According to recent interviews with director Steven Soderbergh, the unmade film spent years in development before Disney ultimately decided to pull the plug — leaving the creative team disappointed and fans wondering what could have been. Two and a Half Years of Work — For Nothing Speaking during a Brooklyn film series interview, Soderbergh revealed that he, Adam Driver, and writer Rebecca Blunt spent years developing the project, only to see it quietly cancelled. “That was two and a half years of free work for me and Adam and Rebecca Blunt…The stated reason [from Disney] was, ‘We don’t think Ben Solo could be alive.’ And that was all we were told. And so there’s nothing to do…
Steven Soderbergh
The Canceled The Hunt for Ben Solo: A Star Wars What-Could-Have-Been
When Adam Driver revealed that he and Steven Soderbergh had quietly developed a new Star Wars film centered on his character Ben Solo, fans sat up and took notice. But what started as one of the most anticipated continuations after the sequel trilogy turned into one of the most frustrating “almosts” in Star Wars lore. The working title: The Hunt for Ben Solo. The story: Ben Solo alive and missing after the events of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, his fate’s a mystery, and the galaxy’s obsession is on. The team: Soderbergh directing, Driver starring, and Scott Z. Burns penning a reportedly finalised script. What’s shocking is how far the project got before it died. Reports say the script was complete, the budget and start date proposed, Lucasfilm had approved internally—but when it hit the desk of Bob Iger and Alan Bergman at Disney, it was rejected. Their reason?…