Steven Soderbergh Confirms ‘The Hunt for Ben Solo’ Was Fully Greenlit by Lucasfilm — Scott Z. Burns Paid $3M to Write Script

“Star Wars” fans are pissed.

They’re expressing frustration with Disney after Adam Driver revealed that executives Bob Iger and Alan Bergman rejected a standalone film focused on Kylo Ren/Ben Solo, the character Driver portrayed in the most recent trilogy The screenplay was titled “The Hunt for Ben Solo.”

According to Collider, some fans took their campaign a step further by funding a plane to fly a banner over Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California, reading “Save The Hunt for Ben Solo.” A reporter from the site was on hand to capture photos of the banner as it flew above the studio.

There have been many more updates since. Soderbergh has now taken to BluSky to elaborate about how close we actually got to this film happening. Apparently , it marked the first time Lucasfilm had ever presented a fully approved project to Disney that did not move forward.

In the aftermath of the [Hunt for Ben Solo] situation, I asked Kathy Kennedy if LFL had ever turned in a finished movie script for greenlight to Disney and had it rejected. She said no, this was a first.

A new report from The Playlist certainly won’t calm fans down. They are saying that Soderbergh’s project, known internally as “Quiet Leaves,” was far beyond an initial concept or pitch. It had a finished screenplay and was moving into early preparation and staffing. Scott Z. Burns was brought on to finalize the script, reportedly earning more than any writer in Lucasfilm history. Burns had prior connections to Star Wars, having contributed uncredited work on ‘Rogue One’ before Tony Gilroy completed that film.

High-level Lucasfilm executives, including Kathleen Kennedy, were deeply involved in development and were reportedly pleased with the scripts. Sources indicate the delay came from Disney executives, who raised concerns over narrative continuity—specifically how Ben Solo could be alive after ‘The Rise of Skywalker.’

Lucasfilm leadership had considered the story logically sound, and some insiders view the halt as politically influenced, coinciding with Bob Iger’s moves to elevate Alan Bergman as his successor. The fallout reportedly affected Bergman’s standing, while other executives gained favor. Soderbergh and Adam Driver received no payment, while Burns earned over $3M for his script.

Back in January, Soderbergh released his annual list of everything he watched, read, and listened to over the past year — and sharp-eyed fans noticed a curious trend: a whole lot of Star Wars. His 2024 list featured multiple entries from the franchise, including ‘The Phantom Menace,’ “Andor,” and ‘The Rise of Skywalker,’ alongside his usual mix of classics and deep cuts.

At the time, IndieWire even speculated that Soderbergh’s sudden Star Wars binge might hint at a secret project for the franchise. Turns out, they were right. If he was deep in a Star Wars rewatch throughout 2024, that means his Kylo Ren project — “The Hunt for Ben Solo” — was likely still very much alive during that period.

So it goes, despite fan speculation that Driver’s recent remarks might push Disney to revive the project, sources close to both him and Soderbergh insist it is permanently shelved and that contractual obligations no longer apply. Internally, the film is considered “dead.”