Adam Driver has shut the door on a return to Star Wars. In an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, the actor said his time in the franchise is finished and that the cancelled Kylo Ren film The Hunt for Ben Solo has little chance of being revived.
According to TheWrap, Driver was on the show on Wednesday to promote his film Paper Tiger. Asked whether he has a future in Star Wars, he answered: “It’s over.” He added that there’s “no more Star Wars” for him. Driver said he and director Steven Soderbergh tried to make one more film, but Disney’s response was that Ben Solo is dead. IGN reports the project was meant as a sequel to The Rise of Skywalker and had the backing of Lucasfilm leaders such as Kathleen Kennedy, but Disney’s bosses weren’t convinced.
A door left ajar, but only just
Eisen pressed Driver on whether he’d come back if Disney changed its mind. As Variety reports, Driver said “if they wanted to, fine” and that it isn’t his call, then added that he thinks the ship has sailed. IGN reads that as willingness to return if someone revived the film. Either way, he isn’t expecting it to happen.
He did speak warmly about the work itself. Driver said the team spent about two years developing a script he called “really good”, and he praised the fan campaign behind it. “I didn’t expect that it was going to be billboards and people flying planes over Disney,” he said.
Where that leaves the film
Driver’s comments line up with what’s come from Lucasfilm. IGN says Lucasfilm boss Dave Filoni stated earlier this year that the film wasn’t in active development, a remark we covered in our report on Filoni’s D23 comments. Hope flared again when fans read meaning into an X-Men video featuring Driver, but this interview points the other way.
Soderbergh has also moved on. IGN reports he’s now helping finish production on The Batman Part 2, stepping in for Matt Reeves, who had to leave the shoot because of a personal matter. IGN adds that Soderbergh has said he doesn’t expect to go back to the Ben Solo film, because if it were going to happen it would already have happened.
On Disney’s side, IGN says the studio is working on Star Wars Episode 10 with Spider-Man: No Way Home director Jon Watts. It’s unclear whether sequel-trilogy characters such as Rey or Finn will appear, or whether Disney plans to put more distance between that project and the sequel films.
Is The Hunt for Ben Solo still happening?
No. Driver says it’s over, and IGN reports Dave Filoni has said it isn’t in active development. Driver acknowledged Disney or Lucasfilm could revive it “if they wanted to”, but he doesn’t expect that.
Why did Disney turn it down?
Driver’s account is that Disney’s response was that Ben Solo is dead. IGN reports Disney’s bosses couldn’t accept the character returning after his death in The Rise of Skywalker, even though Lucasfilm leaders backed the pitch.
Will Adam Driver play Kylo Ren again?
Not on current plans. Driver said he’d be fine with a revival if Disney wanted one, but that it’s not his call and he thinks the ship has sailed.
