Adam Driver reveals that Disney turned down a Star Wars sequel based around Kylo Ren

Adam Driver has revealed that Disney rejected a script for a Star Wars sequel that featured his character Kylo Ren.

The Girls actor played Ben Solo/Kylo Ren between 2015’s Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens and 2019’s Star Wars: Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker and wanted to star in his own standalone film.

“I had been talking about doing another one since 2021. (Lucasfilm boss) Kathleen (Kennedy) had contacted me. I’ve always said: “With a great director and a great story, I don’t hesitate for a second.” I loved that character and I loved playing him,” he said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Adam Driver teamed up with director Steven Soderbergh to work on an idea for a film that would take place after The Rise of Skywalker, which ended with the redemption and apparent death of Kylo Ren. They presented the outline to Lucasfilm bosses, who were interested in the concept, and so hired Scott Z. Burns to write the script. The Marriage Story star was very excited about the script, which he described as “one of the coolest scripts I’ve ever been a part of.” Lucasfilm also liked it. “We presented the script to Lucasfilm. They loved the idea. They totally understood our point of view and why we were doing it,” explained Adam Driver.

However, Disney bosses were not of the same opinion. “We presented it to Bob Iger and Alan Bergman and they said no. They didn’t see how Ben Solo could be alive. And that’s it,” he said.

Adam Driver added: “It was called The Hunt of Ben Solo and it was really cool. But it’s no longer relevant, so I can finally talk about it.”

Steven Soderbergh, also told AP: “I really enjoyed making the movie in my head. I’m just sorry the fans can’t see it.”

Lucasfilm executives haven’t released a Star Wars film since The Rise of Skywalker, but two are planned – The Mandalorian and Grogu in 2026 and Starfighter in 2027 – and several other projects are in development.