Adam Driver hasn’t made peace with Disney’s decision to shelve The Hunt for Ben Solo. In a new interview with the Associated Press on his Paper Tiger press tour, Variety reports, the Oscar nominee said he was surprised that Steven Soderbergh’s name alone didn’t have the studio jumping at the chance to make the film.
“For me it was: Steven Soderbergh wants to make a Star Wars film,” Driver said. “What are we debating?” He then called the outcome “criminal”, before softening it to “Or it felt criminal. We’re all moving on.” According to IGN, he added that Soderbergh “already has something else that’s one of the best things he’s ever written.”
How the film died, in Driver’s telling
TheWrap notes that Driver and Soderbergh spent nearly two and a half years developing the film, which would have followed The Rise of Skywalker. Driver first revealed the project last October, when he said Lucasfilm liked the script but Disney’s then-CEO Bob Iger and co-chairman Alan Bergman “didn’t see how Ben Solo was alive.” That account is Driver’s, and it’s the only explanation on record for why the film stalled.
Fans didn’t take it quietly. Driver said he was “blown away” by the response and never expected “billboards in Times Square”, adding that it felt like everyone “at the bar having a conversation about the films we wanted to see.” The campaign didn’t change the outcome. As we reported, Lucasfilm president Dave Filoni has said the company isn’t working on the film right now, and IGN notes that Soderbergh ruled out a return in April.
A door left ajar, barely
The “criminal” quote lands just after Driver told The Rich Eisen Show that his time as Kylo Ren is over. We covered that in Adam Driver’s “no more Star Wars” interview, where he left a small opening in case Disney changes its mind. This latest interview points the other way: Driver sounds more focused on what comes next with Soderbergh than on reviving the project.
Hope has flickered before. Fans read a hint of a comeback into an Adam Driver X-Men video, though nothing came of it. IGN adds that Soderbergh is currently helping out on The Batman Part 2. It also reports that Taika Waititi’s long-gestating Star Wars film was officially put on ice last month, so the franchise’s slate has lost two high-profile projects in quick succession.
Is The Hunt for Ben Solo still happening?
No. Driver has said it’s over, Soderbergh ruled out a return in April, and Filoni has said Lucasfilm isn’t working on it right now. Disney hasn’t announced any change.
Why did Disney cancel The Hunt for Ben Solo?
Driver says Iger and Bergman “didn’t see how Ben Solo was alive.” Disney hasn’t publicly given its own reasoning.
What is Adam Driver doing now?
Driver is promoting James Gray’s Paper Tiger, which TheWrap reports is now in theatres. He says Soderbergh already has another script ready.
