Steven Soderbergh Says Kathleen Kennedy Told Him Disney Had Never Turned Down a Completed Lucasfilm Script Before Star Wars: The Hunt for Ben Solo

The find of the unrealized The Hunt For Ben Solo movie has truly shaken up Star Wars fans implicit the past week — and recently, Steven Soderbergh, the brains down the project, revealed that the determination not to greenlight the completed Lucasfilm publication for the movie was a archetypal for Disney.

“In the aftermath of the HFBS situation, I asked Kathy Kennedy if [Lucasfilm Ltd] had ever turned successful a finished movie publication for greenlight to Disney and had it rejected,” Soderbergh precocious wrote connected his BlueSky account. “She said no, this was a first.”

Days prior, the filmmaker posted connected the level to enactment that helium was not blessed astir having to support the task nether wraps for truthful long, adjacent though it didn’t travel to walk anyway. “For the record, I did not bask lying astir the beingness of ‘THE HUNT FOR BEN SOLO,’ but it truly did request to stay a secret…until now!” helium wrote.

This isn’t the archetypal clip Soderbergh has opened up connected his feelings astir the movie and its dissolution. “I truly enjoyed making the movie successful my head,” helium told Associated Press successful a connection conscionable 1 week ago. “I’m conscionable atrocious the fans won’t get to spot it.”

Fans are dying to spot the project, adjacent though it is considered dormant by Lucasfilm Ltd, the institution who develops and produces Star Wars media. In fact, a radical of fans chartered a level connected Friday, October 24 and had it alert implicit Disney Studios successful Burbank with a process banner that read, “Save ‘The Hunt For Ben Solo.’” The choler from fans implicit this determination has sparked an outcry successful the signifier of a Change.org petition arsenic well, which has implicit 3,700 signatures astatine the clip of writing.

The task would person taken spot pursuing The Rise of Skywalker and centered connected Adam Driver’s quality Kylo Ren, who is really Ben Solo, and his quest for redemption. Driver precocious told AP that The Hunt For Ben Solo was “one of the coolest f—king scripts I had ever been a portion of.”

Driver played Ben Solo / Kylo Ren successful each of the 3 films successful Lucasfilm’s Sequel Trilogy, with his last quality successful 2019’s divisive The Rise of Skywalker. “I ever was funny successful doing different Star Wars,” Driver said. He revealed helium had been successful talks astir different Star Wars movie since 2021, and that Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy had “reached out.”

“I ever said: with a large manager and a large story, I’d beryllium determination successful a second,” Driver commented. “I loved that quality and loved playing him."

Driver said Lucasfilm “loved the idea” and “totally understood our space and wherefore we were doing it.” However, Disney CEO Bob Iger and Disney co-chairman Alan Bergman said no. "They didn’t spot however Ben Solo was alive. And that was that,” helium said. Soderbergh told AP: “I truly enjoyed making the movie successful my head. I’m conscionable atrocious the fans won’t get to spot it.” Disney and Lucasfilm declined to remark to the AP.

Driver was described arsenic feeling mystified by the decision, insisting the program was to “be judicial astir however to walk wealth and beryllium economical with it, and bash it for little than astir but successful the aforesaid tone of what those movies are, which is handmade and character-driven.” He pointed to the much-loved Empire Strikes Back arsenic being “the modular of what those movies were.”

Lex Briscuso is simply a movie and tv professional and a freelance amusement writer for IGN. You tin travel her connected Twitter astatine @nikonamerica.