The force was not with this one. A Star Wars project focusing on Ben Solo after the events of Rise Of Skywalker was pitched to Disney by none other than Adam Driver, but the project was ultimately turned down by Disney themselves.

The son of Han Solo and Leia Organa, Ben Solo, better known to the galaxy as Kylo Ren, was the main antagonist of Disney’s Star Wars sequel trilogy. Played by Adam Driver, Ben was once a student of Luke Skywalker, but fell to the Dark Side of the Force. After killing his father and destroying his master, Kylo Ren took command of the First Order, until he was eventually redeemed by a fellow student of Luke’s, Rey. Ben then died after sacrificing himself to save Rey. 

Although Ben’s story seemed complete at the end of Rise Of Skywalker, Driver thought there was more that could be done. He told The Associated Press that he was always interested in returning to the franchise, as he really enjoyed playing the character. He had a specific idea for the character post-Episode IX, but he didn’t divulge any exact details. 

Along the way, he wound up approaching director Steven Soderbergh about the idea, after the two worked together on Logan Lucky. With Soderbergh interested, as well as a story outline from Rebecca Blunt and a script from Scott Z. Burns, they brought it to Lucasfilm. But, as Hollywood Reporter notes, it was shot down once it got further along. 

Driver explained that they “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.” He went on to add that he can finally discuss it, now that the project is officially not happening. 

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