Somehow, Ben Solo (nearly) returned. Yes, despite the lightsaber wielder formerly known as Kylo Ren having very much bitten the Force dust at the end of 2019's Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker, we are just now learning that if Adam Driver had have had it his way, then we would've gotten a fully-fledged Solo: A Star Wars Story of an altogether different kind. And frankly, dear reader, it sounds amazing, dank farrik.
Speaking to AP News, Driver revealed that back in 2021, he and Steven Soderbergh had come to Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy with ideas for The Hunt For Ben Solo, a post-Rise Of Skywalker set movie. "I always was interested in doing another Star Wars,” Driver told AP, adding, "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 initial idea was met with enthusiasm by Kennedy, Lucasfilm VP Cary Beck, and CCO Dave Filoni, and Driver and Soderbergh swiftly tapped up The Report writer Scott Z. Burns to hash out a script, with the result being, per Driver's own words, "one of the coolest (expletive) scripts I had ever been a part of."
Despite Lucasfilm's excitement for and understanding of The Hunt For Ben Solo and what it was going for, it was Disney's higher ups who would eventually nix the project. "We took it to [Disney CEO] Bob Iger and [co-chairman] Alan Bergman and they said no," shared Driver. "They didn’t see how Ben Solo was alive. And that was that.” In a statement given to AP News, Soderbergh said of the unmade movie, which would've had a "handmade and character-driven" quality harkening back to Driver's beloved Empire Strikes Back, "I really enjoyed making the movie in my head. I'm just sorry the fans won't get to see it."
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While there are no shortage of Star Wars shaped irons in the Lucasfilm fire right now — from the imminent Mandalorian And Grogu, to currently shooting Shawn Levy joint Star Wars: Starfighter, to Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy's Rey movie and beyond — it's hard not to rue what The Hunt For Ben Solo could've been. Kylo Ren/Ben Solo is one of the greatest characters in Star Wars, and many felt that his fade into the Force at the end of Episode IX was maybe a tad premature. Who knows? Maybe now that Driver has spoken its name into the world, there's a chance — even if a slim one — that we'll get a Ryan Reynolds 'leaked' Deadpool test reel situation and the project will be revived. Never tell us the odds!