Adam Driver has revealed that Disney shot down a Star Wars sequel centered on Ben Solo, despite Lucasfilm being on board.
The Oscar-nominated actor, who played the son of Han Solo and Leia Organa and the grandson of Anakin Skywalker (aka Darth Vader), and later turned into the villain Kylo Ren, recently detailed the sequel idea during an interview with The Associated Press.
“I always was interested in doing another Star Wars,” Driver said. “I had been talking about doing another one since 2021. Kathleen [Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm] 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.”
The Megalopolis actor said he eventually took his idea to filmmaker Steven Soderbergh, adding that the film would have taken place after 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker. (Driver also starred in 2015’s The Force Awakens and 2017’s The Last Jedi.)
After Soderbergh and Rebecca Blunt outlined a story concept, they tapped Scott Z. Burns to write a script, which Driver described as “one of the coolest (expletive) scripts I had ever been a part of.”
The House of Gucci star continued, “We presented the script to Lucasfilm. They loved the idea. They totally understood our angle and why we were doing it.”
While everything seemed to be moving full steam ahead at that point, there were a few more people Driver needed on board for the film, which was tentatively titled The Hunt for Ben Solo, to fully come to life. However, things didn’t go to plan once they presented it to Disney execs.
“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,” Driver recalled. His character Kylo Ren has a redemption arc across the trilogy and ultimately dies at the end of The Rise of Skywalker.
He added that though the sequel idea “was really cool,” he noted, “It is no more, so I can finally talk about it.”
Soderbergh also wrote in a statement to The Associated Press, “I really enjoyed making the movie in my head. I’m just sorry the fans won’t get to see it.”
The Hollywood Reporter reached out to Lucasfilm, but they declined to comment.