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Adam Driver on Jarmusch, ‘Star Wars’ and putting filmmakers first

“I always was interested in doing another ‘Star Wars,’” says Driver, who starred as Kylo Ren in the trilogy kicked off by “The Force Awakens.” “I had been talking about doing another one since 2021. Kathleen (Kennedy) had reached out. 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.” Driver says he took a concept to Soderbergh for a film that would take place after 2019’s “The Rise of Skywalker.” That movie culminated in Ren’s redemption and apparent death. Driver had undertaken the trilogy with an arc in mind for Ren that inverted the journey of Darth Vader. As the trilogy evolved, it didn’t play out that way. Driver felt there was unfinished business for Kylo Ren, or as he was known before turning to the Dark Side, Ben Solo. Soderbergh and Rebecca Blunt outlined a story that the group then pitched to Kennedy, Lucasfilm vice president Cary Beck and Lucasfilm chief creative officer Dave Filoni. They were interested, so the filmmakers then pulled in Scott Z. Burns to write a script. Driver calls the result “one of the coolest (expletive) scripts I had ever been a part of.” “We presented the script to Lucasfilm. They loved the idea. They totally understood our angle and why we were doing it,” Driver says. “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 that.” “It was called ‘The Hunt for Ben Solo’ and it was really cool,” adds Driver. “But it is no more, so I can finally talk about it.” Soderbergh, in a statement, said: “I really enjoyed making the movie in my head. I’m just sorry the fans won’t get to see it.” Representatives for Disney and Lucasfilm declined comment.

[...] For Driver, who starred in Soderbergh’s 2017 heist comedy “Logan Lucky,” the decision was mystifying. Who wouldn’t want to see a Soderbergh-directed “Star Wars” film?

“We wanted to be judicial about how to spend money and be economical with it, and do it for less than most but in the same spirit of what those movies are, which is handmade and character-driven,” Driver says. “‘Empire Strikes Back’ being, in my opinion, the standard of what those movies were. But he is, to me, one of my favorite directors of all time. He lives his code, lives his ethics, doesn’t compromise.”

#the hunt for ben solo #I'm so mad about this

unexpectedreylo

The Hunt For Ben Solo

Today comes the shocking news via Associated Press (AP) that beginning in 2021, Adam Driver spent two years trying to get a post-TROS Ben Solo movie off the ground. Titled "The Hunt For Ben Solo," the project would've reunited Adam with Scott Z. Burns (The Report) writing the screenplay and with Steven Soderbergh (Logan Lucky) directing. Dave Filoni loved it. Kathleen Kennedy loved it. Adam said it was the bleeping best script he's ever been a part of. He compared it to TESB.

Bob Iger and Walt Disney Pictures president Alan Bergman shot it down.

Because Ben Solo was dead. You know, in a galaxy where Darth Maul was sawed in half and managed to come back. Where Boba Fett survived the Sarlaac pit. Where Palpatine was resurrected in the very last film with little to no explanation.

Based on what I've seen on X, Reylos, rats, film twitter, and fanboys are united in their utter shock, anger, and disgust. You have one of the most talented, in-demand, respected actors around who WANTS to come back to Star Wars (and didn't wait 15-20 years to want to come back either), who LOVES his character, and was probably the most popular character to come out of the ST. You have an Oscar-winning director who WANTED to make a SW film and directed Adam in one of his most memorable performances. You have an Oscar-nominated screenwriter waiting in the wings. And they were going to get it done with a smaller budget. IT WAS A NO-BRAINER AND THEY STILL TURNED IT DOWN.

This film may or may not have reunited Ben with Rey but I believe it would've healed a lot of the bad vibes after TROS. It would've made people feel a lot better about the ST. And I think Adam believed so too.

This isn't just corporate stupidity, it's malfeasance. If enough fans owned Disney stock, we should file a shareholder's suit! Bob Iger is clearly allergic to money. Picture this:

JARED LETO: Hey, I know my last franchise movie flopped but how about if I star in a third Tron movie? Sure the last one was like 13 years ago and Tron never had more than a nerdy guy cult following, and there are all these allegations against me, but I think it'll be awesome.

BOB IGER: Sure, I'll even give it a $200 million budget!

ADAM DRIVER: I've got Steven Soderbergh and Scott Z. Burns to make a Star Wars film with Ben Solo post-TROS. We can get it done super cheap. The fans will love it!

BOB IGER: LOL, no.

While I think it's long been past Kathleen Kennedy's expiration date, I've maintained for years that the problems with Star Wars extend well beyond her leadership. This whole fiasco just proves that point. The Mandalorian & Grogu and Starfighter might turn out okay but right now the ship is run by fools. And I think the fundamental problem is that Disney's suits do not love Star Wars.

The good news is Iger is out the door next year (I hope for good this time) and new leadership might give "The Hunt For Ben Solo" another look. Maybe that's why Adam dropped the bomb now while he's supposed to be promoting his new flick Father Mother Sister Brother.

Time to turn up the noise...Bring Ben Solo Back!

laisse-mourrir-le-passe

The Tron Aeries thing is such a good point. Disney is SHOVING that movie down all our throats—to the point of having a dance choreographed to advertise it on Dancing With The Stars—and for what? Literally no one wanted that film. No one is excited about it.

But a film featuring the most (and arguably only) popular sequel trilogy by actual artists for what to Disney has to be a small investment and they turned it down. Like ????

It's genuinely so mind-boggilingly illogical.

#well if anything this continues to prove the point that disney is a glorified villain corp driven by ghouls #we must boycott with all possible means #the hunt for ben solo

problematicsubmarine

Much like the humble Cicada the Reylos emerge seemingly from out of nowhere to scream

laisse-mourrir-le-passe

Somehow, the Reylos returned.

#reylo

reyloversum

Daisy Ridley *reading reylo fanfiction*

Adam Driver *writing one*

miscellaneousjo

Adam and Daisy: *high five*

bloomsbury

Who's gonna do the hunting babes? If not his other half? ✨

#art

romavitae

adam i need you to publish that script on ao3

graceashcroft-archive-deactivat

someone paid for a legit SAVE #TheHuntForBenSolo plane to fly around the Disney animation campus. I am so proud of this community tbh.

#the hunt for ben solo #star wars #ben solo

thewayofthetrashcompactor

Adam Driver says he worked with Stephen Soderbergh (Logan Lucky) on a pitch for The Hunt For Ben Solo, "one of the coolest (expletive) scripts I had ever been a part of."

From @sleemo 's post on bluesky:

In an interview with The Associated Press, Adam Driver says he developed a Kylo Ren “Star Wars” movie that would have been directed by Steve

jemilysamour

adam give us the script anyway fuck disney

indacottage

adam driver loved ben solo so much that he teamed up with steven soderbergh to write a ben solo movie set after tros to the bring him back and complete the character's arc but it was turned down by disney and now that it's long dead he's telling us about it

#the way they suddenly decided to turn against this character (WHICH THEY CREATED AND INVESTED ON)#and treat him like he never happened #is so paradigmatic of how they treated the whole sequel trilogy #and also so incredibly suspish tbh #it's like it was initially a bet to invest on a different and much larger target audience #and then at some point after TLJ they decided it was not worth the effort #and backpedaled and retconned everything #gave it another chance with the acolyte and pivoted again #clearly they're afraid to lose their die hard fanbase by catering to the other side of the fandom #but then why bother trying at all?#the entire handling of the post lucas era by disney is a complete mess #also idc how you feel about ben solo as a character #you have to agree they did him so dirty in the last movie #and you have an actor like adam driver wanting to reprise the role - and a director like soderbergh #and you turn them down???#baffling #i hope they rot in hell with the entire franchise

mearchy

my favorite genre of fictional character is like "i am terrifying to almost everyone, i'm very good at killing, i can endure anything, i've become exceptionally good at playing into my reputation, and if you try to give me positive social interaction i will react with confusion and cower in a corner like an abused animal. and i may try to shoot you. but there is also a chance i may imprint on you like a feral dog receiving its first loving touch! good luck."

#who's dis