‘The Hunt for Ben Solo’ Had a Greenlit Script Earlier than Disney Killed It

Earlier this week, Adam Driver despatched a disturbance by way of the Pressure when he revealed The Hunt for Ben Solo, a Star Wars movie developed by himself, director Steven Soderbergh, and screenwriter Scott Z. Burns, which the actor mentioned was backed by Lucasfilm however finally scrapped by Disney executives Bob Iger and Alan Bergman. Nevertheless, a brand new report twists the lightsaber in a bit additional, alleging that the film had made vital headway into preliminary improvement earlier than it was killed.

Playlist experiences that The Hunt for Ben Solo—which might’ve been set after the occasions of The Rise of Skywalker and resurrected the titular character after he seemingly sacrificed himself to resurrect Rey—purportedly had obtained an inside inexperienced gentle from Lucasfilm when it was then provided to Disney executives for approval.

What that meant was that the movie, allegedly developed below the codename “Quiet Leaves,” had a finalized script in place and was getting into early phases of staffing and pre-production planning after Lucasfilm itself had given the studio’s approval. At that time, Disney had already bought a “beat sheet”—a doc offering a broad chronological guideline of the deliberate occasions and emotional beats of a narrative to information the eventual screenplay—from Soderbergh and his spouse, Jules Asner, the latter writing below the pen title Rebecca Blunt.

At that time, Burns (who had beforehand been concerned in Star Wars on iterations of the Rogue One script earlier than eventual Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy was introduced into that venture) was reportedly paid “greater than any screenwriter in Lucasfilm historical past,” in accordance with Playlist, to jot down the script.

Lucasfilm, which at this stage had not but entered manufacturing on a brand new Star Wars movie after the discharge of The Rise of Skywalker in 2019, allegedly solely waited till The Hunt for Ben Solo was thought-about prepared to start filming earlier than presenting it to Disney, with a “last script, price range, and proposed begin date,” just for Iger and Bergman to reject it, citing confusion in regards to the survival of the redeemed Kylo Ren.

io9 has reached out to Lucasfilm for touch upon the veracity of Playlist’s report and can replace this story when and if we hear from the studio.

However the report does coincide with public statements made earlier this week on Bluesky by an account believed to be Soderbergh’s. The account “Bitchuation” (a deal with Soderbergh had previously used on Twitter earlier than seemingly migrating to the rival social media platform in November 2024) said in a collection of messages on October 22, two days after Driver’s public reveal of the venture, that “I didn’t get pleasure from mendacity in regards to the existence of THE HUNT FOR BEN SOLO, however it actually did want to stay a secret…till now!”

“Additionally, within the aftermath of the HFBS state of affairs, I requested Kathy Kennedy if LFL had ever turned in a completed film script for greenlight to Disney and had it rejected,” the account continued. “She mentioned no, this was a primary.”

Playlist additional famous that the rationale each Driver and Soderbergh have felt comfy discussing The Hunt for Ben Solo this week is that, despite constructive fan response to the thought, each actor and director firmly imagine that the venture is completely lifeless, and they’re not certain by any associated disclosure agreements (no Ryan Reynolds Deadpool leak right here, it appears).

Unrelated to Hunt for Ben Solo, Playlist additionally additional touched upon a recent claim from the InSneider that director David Fincher had tried to develop a brand new Star Wars movie, just for it to be turned down. Opposite to that preliminary report, Playlist claims that Fincher’s venture—supposedly set between the occasions of The Final Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker—by no means went past very early conversations and ideas and didn’t acquire traction with Lucasfilm, fairly than breaking down over say on the ultimate lower of the movie, because the InSneider had prompt.

We’ll convey you extra on Lucasfilm’s plans for the way forward for Star Wars—scrapped or otherwise—as we study them.

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