We Almost Got a New 'Star Wars' Movie from Soderbergh and Adam Driver

Cue the Darth Vader "NOOOOOO" of anguish.

In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Adam Driver revealed he pitched a new Star Wars movie to Disney. It was sadly not greenlit, but it sounds like it could have been amazing.

Driver played Kylo Ren/Ben Solo, the son of Han and Leia Solo, who turns to the Dark Side in the sequel trilogy. He apparently gives his life in the final film, The Rise of Skywalker, to save Rey (Daisy Ridley).

But in a franchise where we got the line, "Somehow, Palpatine returned," this seemed like a small obstacle to bringing the character back.

"I always was interested in doing another Star Wars," Driver told AP. "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."

Well, according to him, it seems we almost had both.

He took an idea to director Steven Soderbergh.

Together, they envisioned a complete, redemptive character arc for Ben Solo, whose journey would have mirrored Darth Vader's (his grandfather's).

The Rise of SkywalkerCredit: Lucasfilm

In the mess of the sequel trilogy, which contains the subversive The Last Jedi (we won't start), Kylo Ren's storyline got kind of lost before being quickly resolved with a touch of rushed romance in the final film.

Soderbergh and Rebecca Blunt created an outline that was pitched to Kennedy, Lucasfilm vice president Cary Beck, and Lucasfilm chief creative officer Dave Filoni. (Filoni has had a hand in some of the franchise's biggest and most impactful projects, including The Clone Wars.)

They got the go. The next step was to commission a script from Scott Z. Burns, a frequent Soderbergh collaborator.

Driver called the script "one of the coolest [expletive] scripts I had ever been a part of."

He added, "We presented the script to Lucasfilm. They loved the idea. They totally understood our angle 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 that."

Again... this franchise... brought back a long-dead galactic emperor. But okay.

"It was called The Hunt for Ben Solo, and it was really cool," Driver said. "But it is no more, so I can finally talk about it."

In a statement to AP, Soderbergh said, "I really enjoyed making the movie in my head. I'm just sorry the fans won't get to see it."

Us, too.

The next confirmed Star Wars movie set for release is Star Wars: Starfighter, directed by Shawn Levy and starring Ryan Gosling.