Steven Soderbergh’s STAR WARS film THE HUNT FOR BEN SOLO was apparently in development just 10 months ago

For a Star Wars project never officially existed, The Hunt for Ben Solo has attracted a lot of interest lately. Both Steven Soderbergh AND Adam Driverconfirmed that they have been demolished Star Wars the film has been in active development for nearly two years and Soderbergh appears to have been working on it as recently as 10 months ago.

According to the director’s 2024 viewing and reading diary posted on his Soderblog, Soderbergh has rewatched almost the entire Star Wars saga last year. In February he logged in The Phantom Menace, Return of the JediAND Attack of the Clones.

In September he had looked The Empire strikes againand in December he ended the year with Revenge of the Sith, A new hope (twice) and even more prequel retellings.

Fans have noticed this spike Star Wars viewings were well beyond his usual annual schedule, sparking speculation that he was immersed in the creative process for his film Ben Solo.

Adam Driver, who played Ben Solo/Kylo Ren in the sequel trilogy, recently spoke about the abandoned project, revealing it was called The Hunt for Ben Solo and which had been in negotiations since 2021.

The script came from Scott Z. Burnswho previously collaborated with Soderbergh on Contagion. Lucasfilm reportedly loved the story, but Disney executives Bob Iger AND Alan Bergmann I didn’t see how Ben could come back after his death The Rise of Skywalker.

Driver described the project as “one of the (expletive) greatest scripts I’ve ever been a part of.” He went on to explain where things fell apart:

“We pitched the script to Lucasfilm. They loved the idea. They totally understood our point of view and why we were doing it. 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 it… It was called The Hunt for Ben Solo and it was really good. But he’s gone, so I can finally talk about it.”

Driver admitted that he is genuinely eager to return to the galaxy far, far away, saying:

“I’ve always been interested in doing another Star Wars. I’ve been talking about doing another one since 2021. Kathleen (Kennedy) had contacted me. I always said: with a great director and a great story, I’d be there in a second. I loved that character and I loved playing him.”

Soderbergh also expressed his disappointment that the project was shelved:

“I really enjoyed making the movie in my head. I’m just sorry the fans won’t be able to see it.”

News that Soderbergh was still watching and perhaps working on Star Wars the material in late 2024 adds an interesting layer to the story. The idea that The Hunt for Ben Solo was developed by a talented director like Soderbergh and then shut down by Disney, it sucks for a long time for fans who loved Ben Solo’s arc and wanted to see more of it.

Maybe one day Disney will see the light. Maybe it could at least get the comic book treatment, so we could at least see how the story would develop.

As for the future of the Star Wars universe, the next big screen adventure will be The Mandalorian and Grogucharacterized Pedro Pasquale returning as Din Djarin, joined by Sigourney Weaver as colonel of the New Republic and Jeremy Allen White as Rotta the Hutt. The film will be released in theaters on May 22, 2026.