The stories of Star Wars‘ creation are nearly (sometimes more) compelling than the films themselves––personal ambition, institutional politics, and empires (the evil of which is in the eye of the beholder) bearing a strange mirror to the dealings in a galaxy far, far away. There will one day be a book about the franchise’s post-Lucas era that details much limited ambition and thwarted potential, and a key chapter will concern news that’s only come to light today.
Speaking with AP, Adam Driver––whose subsequent career is so significant that I honestly forget he was in three of these movies as the ostensible answer to Darth Vader––revealed that he and his Logan Lucky director Steven Soderbergh were planning a follow-up to the sequel trilogy that would concern Kylo Ren (did you remember his name before I typed that out?), a character for whom Driver felt “there was unfinished business.” (And for the director, occasion to watch Star Wars movies nine times in 2024.) Soderbergh and Logan Lucky scribe Rebecca Blunt (a pen name for his wife Jules Asner) outlined a story strong enough to commission screenwriter Scott Z. Burns, whose script The Hunt for Ben Solo was, per Driver, one of the coolest (expletive) scripts I had ever been a part of.”
Considering this is a series that brings back characters like it’s no business whatsoever, it’s mystifying to learn that, despite Lucasfilm’s enthusiasm, Disney’s Bob Iger and Alan Bergman killed the project because they “didn’t see how Ben Solo was alive.” For his own part, Soderbergh said, “I really enjoyed making the movie in my head. I’m just sorry the fans won’t get to see it.” The Empire Strikes Back and what Driver calls a certain “handmade and character-driven” quality was a leading light.
Unlikely that this tidbit will generate enough enthusiasm for a subsequent revival, and instead it’s another spin-off series on Disney+ and a Jon Favreau-directed streaming-to-theater transplant. This thought is both more frustrating than anything Star Wars-related should be in 2025 and a relief as license to continue never caring about another aspect of the franchise.
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