Adam Driver Star Wars Sequel Almost Made
Adam Driver is Kylo Ren in STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER
In a recent interview with AP, Adam Driver has revealed that he spent two years developing a Star Wars film with Director Steven Soderbergh, which was then shut down by Disney executives despite previously established support from the Lucasfilm leadership.
Driver, who starred as Kylo Ren in the trilogy, revealed he’s been interested in doing another Star Wars as far back as 2021 when Kathleen Kennedy reached out about the topic. “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”. He then took a concept to Soderbergh for a film that would have taken place after The Rise of Skywalker, which led to the character’s apparent death. The planned follow-up would have been called The Hunt for Ben Solo and was envisioned to resolve the unfinished business for Kylo Ren. According to Driver, Soderbergh, and writer 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 loved the idea, so the filmmakers then pulled in Scott Z. Burns to write a script. In the interview, Driver calls the result “one of the coolest (expletive) scripts I had ever been a part of.” However, Driver then adds that “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”.
The news comes at a frustrating time for Star Wars fans after a lull in feature films. There are numerous projects in various stages of development or production, including Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian and Grogu, Shawn Levy’s Starfighter with Ryan Gosling, a film directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy featuring Daisy Ridley returning as Rey, a James Mangold-directed movie, and a new saga helmed by Simon Kinberg, but fans are not so optimistic given recent output.
In the same interview, Driver went on to talk about his other projects. He is currently reportedly attached to a pair of films that will reunite him with Michael Mann (with whom he worked on Ferrari) and Leos Carax (with whom he worked on Annette). Mann was recently in the news for moving Heat 2 to Amazon MGM’s United Artists after Warner Bros felt the film was too expensive. When Driver was questioned on this, he said, “Watching filmmakers not get the money they need is frustrating. I don’t think I’m a value add. But I’m always down for the cause because I love those filmmakers and their films. I’d rather do a Michael Mann anything.”
Driver will soon be seen in Father Mother Sister Brother, which Mubi have not announced a UK release date. If you live in the U.S the film will get a 24th December limited release.
Discover more from
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
About the Author
