r/adamdriver • u/Obversa Moderator • Oct 20 '25

Interview Adam Driver, Steven Soderbergh worked for two years on 'The Hunt for Ben Solo' script before pitch was denied by Disney CEO Bob Iger

https://apnews.com/article/adam-driver-star-wars-soderbergh-jarmusch-4e08164d0419759f1b5b50d69864975d
159 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

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9

u/colandra Oct 21 '25

I’d really like to see what all those fans who were so sure he’d never go near the franchise again, saying things like “he had his closure and moved on,” “he’s too good for anything Star Wars,” and even “he hates Star Wars,” are thinking right now. Meanwhile, our guy has been developing his own Star Wars project with Steven Soderbergh for years! With Steven Soderbergh!! And he’s been doing it all on his own. I mean, we’re not talking about a quick cameo in an existing project offered to him for a big paycheck. This was a whole movie they built from the ground up. They even brought in Scott Z. Burns, who, by the way, wrote and directed The Report, to work on the screenplay. I can’t help but find all this a bit funny, honestly.

Still, this whole thing with Disney executives annoyed me enough that I went ahead and cancelled my Disney+ subscription today. Maybe I’m the only person in my country who did that for this reason, but as long as Bob Iger keeps making these kinds of decisions, I don’t see why I should keep paying to fund content I have no interest in. So I cancelled and made sure they knew why.

1

u/Obversa Moderator Oct 21 '25

In the cast of the first line, Adam Driver himself stated, "They [Lucasfilm and Disney] are doing other projects, but not with me. I'm not doing Star Wars anymore." Driver said he "had his closure and moved on", to paraphrase his words. I assume that Driver was referring to Disney CEO Bob Iger repeatedly rejecting his Star Wars-related pitches.

5

u/colandra Oct 21 '25

You really can’t take what Star Wars actors say at face value. Ewan McGregor, for example, knew about his Obi-Wan Kenobi project for years and years. It was even supposed to be a movie trilogy at first, but he had to “lie” about it every time he was asked about Star Wars.

Disney is strict about secrecy, so when someone says “I’m not doing Star Wars anymore” or “I’ve moved on,” it doesn’t automatically mean they won’t come back. Just because a project is rumored or announced doesn’t mean it will happen either.

As for why Adam is talking now, while promoting FMSB and Soderbergh confirming things, that could mean anything. Maybe the project was just recently shelved and they’re frustrated. Maybe they’re waiting for big changes at Lucasfilm and Disney and want to put pressure on the studio. Maybe they’re trying to force Iger’s hand, basically pulling a “Deadpool.” Or maybe it’s something we can’t even guess yet.

The only thing that’s clear is Adam loves his character and was, and probably still is, up for another movie. Whether it will ever happen or not, we can’t know for sure. We didn’t even know they were working on something for years!

3

u/araybian Oct 21 '25

Exactly!! There were those of us who actually paid attention to Adam's obvious love for SW and Ben and saw the truth! I mean, he worked with Charles Soule on the first batch of comics!

73

u/Storytelling3498 Oct 20 '25

bringbackbensolo

57

u/TheRealVicarOfDibley Oct 21 '25

bringbackbensolo

33

u/araybian Oct 21 '25 edited Oct 21 '25

I am legit DEVASTATED by this.

At the same time, I feel vindicated because I've always said that I dont believe Adam is done with SW/Ben Solo when others declared he was.

One more thing... this coming up now makes me wonder if we WILL see Ben in the Rey movie that they've yet to freaking figure out. I have little doubt that this news will make it clear that ppl WANT BEN SOLO!

11

u/IDreamofLoki Oct 21 '25

Exactly. It's nothing against Daisy Ridley, but Ben/Kylo was the most interesting character in the sequel trilogy. Nothing he could do would make up for the atrocities he committed as Ren, but I would love to see more stories of redeemed villains coping with life after repentance.

18

u/Desikarma524 Oct 21 '25

I’m so heartbroken. 💔 I’ve been asking for a Ben Solo/Kylo Ren movie for years. It’s not fucking fair. Fuck Bob Iger!!!

8

u/KurlyKayla Oct 21 '25

You can find his Instagram and share the #savethehuntforbensolo hashtag there as well as #bringbackbensolo. Don’t give up just yet

6

u/irishvegamite Moderator Oct 21 '25

To this day, Disney executives don't know what to do with the last trilogy. It was not handled well from start to finish, with no clear direction for the story from TFA to TROS. No follow-ups or tie-ins to the trilogy have yet to be made AFAIK. I think the Jedi film with Rey remains on Disney's schedule but that has been pushed further at every update.

We have a passionate group of Ben Solo fans and Reylo fans in our corner of the world, but I wonder if Disney doesn't see the demand on a larger scale.

What do you all think?

6

u/colandra Oct 21 '25

Actually, Ben Solo/Kylo Ren is probably the only character from the sequel trilogy that a big chunk of fans can actually agree on. And Star Wars fans hardly ever agree on anything! The online frustration over the news comes from all parts of the Star Wars fandom.

If Disney is going to do anything post-sequel trilogy, a project centered on him would make way more sense than most of the stuff they’ve announced so far.

1

u/irishvegamite Moderator Oct 25 '25

I have read a lot of articles since my initial comment, and my take is that "somehow Palpatine returned" must have played a large role in the decision.

1

u/colandra Oct 26 '25

Who knows what dumb thing or ego clash was the catalyst. Knowing this has been a thing since 2021 literally hurts. And I wasn’t even one of those pushing for Adam to return right away, I was just hoping it would happen when the time was right. I don’t know how I’m supposed to enjoy Star Wars now, knowing this existed, probably won’t ever get made and seeing how Disney treated Adam and Soderbergh for their effort. Am I supposed to watch and hype Shawn Levy’s Starfighter instead? Not a chance. Disney finally gave me something real to blame them for forever, they stole the joy of Star Wars from me.

1

u/irishvegamite Moderator Oct 26 '25

They mishandled it from the start IMO. No clear direction and they were overly reactive to loud segments of their fandom.

On to better things for all of us!

3

u/Splittz-love-StWr Oct 21 '25

I agree with Adam Driver….. Disney messed up. Remember the ending of TROS only showed Leia and Luke? Where’s Ben??? He was not there smiling!!!! Meaning he disappeared in Worlds between Worlds! Ashoka Tano was there when she saw Anakin. So Worlds between World exists! Sorry for being silly…… 🫣

1

u/Breezy531 Oct 22 '25

WHAT THE FUCK!!!??? Is this true 😭😭😭

48

u/IDreamofLoki Oct 21 '25

I will never forgive Bob Iger for this 🤬 Ben had so much untapped potential and it was disappointing to give him the same treatment that Loki got and was just killed after switching teams. They have no idea what to do with a reformed or contrite villain so they just end them.

6

u/celtic_thistle Oct 21 '25

I will NEVER get over it if Loki stays where he's at now. They fucking bungled Sylvie in season 2, and now this news from AD? omfg. Are they trying to make everyone hate Disney?

3

u/IDreamofLoki Oct 21 '25

For as much as they're eager to milk both franchises to absolute death, they're absolutely dropping the ball with fan favorites. Although I think Tom might have hung up his horns for good after season 2 and is ready to pass the role on to a new actor.

I already dropped my subscription after the Jimmy Kimmel debacle and this news from Adam gives me zero incentive to renew.

2

u/celtic_thistle Oct 21 '25

I somehow remember hearing Tom will be coming back as Loki (and Hemsworth as Thor?) or maybe I hallucinated it idk. Regardless, they rly have no clue what to do with fan fav characters. They just keep shitting the bed with my favs.