Earlier this week, Adam Driver broke the internet when he revealed that he'd teamed with filmmaker Steven Soderbergh to develop The Hunt for Ben Solo.
The movie was supposed to be a follow-up to The Rise of Skywalker, but two years after they first started working on it, Driver and Soderbergh were told by Disney that the studio wasn't interested in moving forward. Why? Because Bob Iger and Alan Bergman couldn't get their heads around how Kylo Ren could return from the dead.
It's possible that the negative reception to Emperor Palpatine's return in Episode IX was the driving force behind their decision, of course. Still, fans have been very vocal this week that they want this movie to happen.
In fact, the excitement surrounding The Hunt for Ben Solo—a project, which at this point, will likely never get made—far exceeds that for upcoming titles like The Mandalorian and Grogu, Star Wars: Starfighter, and the planned Rey movie.
Now, fans have made their voices heard by flying a "Save #TheHuntForBenSolo" banner over Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California. Collider (via SFFGazette.com) tracked down the fan who commissioned it, Lianna Al Allaf, who said, "I really hope this banner shows the decision makers at Disney that the fans really do want this."
"I hope this banner shows just how much the character of Ben Solo means to so many of us, and that the fans really do want this movie."
Driver has said that he had "unfinished business" with Kylo Ren after the character found redemption and died in the closing moments of 2019's The Rise of Skywalker. So, he enlisted Soderbergh, who teamed with screenwriter Rebecca Blunt (Logan Lucky) to crack the story. Scott Z. Burns (Contagion) then started work on the screenplay, and they pitched the movie to Lucasfilm's Kathleen Kennedy, Cary Beck, and Dave Filoni.
"We presented the script to Lucasfilm. They loved the idea," Driver confirmed. "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."
Driver described the first draft as "one of the coolest f***ing scripts I had ever been a part of," while Soderbergh said in a statement, "I really enjoyed making the movie in my head. I’m just sorry the fans won’t get to see it." Kylo Ren emerged from the divisive Star Wars sequel trilogy as one of its most popular characters, and fans were devastated when he was killed off.
Do you think Lucasfilm should "Save The Hunt for Ben Solo"? Let us know in the comments section below.