A few days ago, Adam Driver revealed that he and filmmaker Steven Soderbergh were developing The Hunt for Ben Solo, a follow-up to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Unfortunately, Disney execs couldn't wrap their heads around Kylo Ren's return—really–and the project was scrapped.
Now, The InSneider (via SFFGazette.com) has revealed that the House of Mouse also decided against moving forward with a Star Wars movie from The Social Network and Fight Club director David Fincher.
The report doesn't share many details, other than this being another story set after Episode IX that would've focused on an unnamed character from The Rise of Skywalker. The project was Fincher's idea, but talks fell through when Lucasfilm refused to give him final cut on the movie.
Fincher got his start on Star Wars, where he worked as a crew member on Return of the Jedi. Lucasfilm eyed him to direct The Force Awakens very early on in its development, while Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy produced his 2008 movie, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Fincher has since set his sights on a follow-up to Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood for Netflix.
Back to The Hunt for Ben Solo, and when Jeff Sneider reached out to sources about the timing of Driver's comments and whether they might be "setting the stage for his return," the insider added, "I was assured that there are no plans for him to return to the Star Wars franchise, especially with Kennedy expected to step down from her post early next year."
Star Wars fans have been very vocal about wanting this movie to happen, with many perplexed that the reasoning for it being scrapped is that it wouldn't make sense for Ben Solo to have survived The Rise of Skywalker (the movie's entire premise revolved around the fact that, somehow, Palpatine had returned).
"I always was interested in doing another 'Star Wars,'" Driver said on Monday. "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."
"We presented the script to Lucasfilm. They loved the idea. They totally understood our angle and why we were doing it. It was called 'The Hunt for Ben Solo' and it was really cool. 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."
These Star Wars movies aren't happening, but The Mandalorian and Grogu and Star Wars: Starfighter are both on the horizon. Whether those are more exciting than the unmade projects listed above is up for debate.