Adam Driver is still not over "The Hunt for Ben Solo," but there's a silver lining: Steven Soderbergh has already moved on to a new script, and Driver calls it one of the best things Soderbergh has ever written.
First, the venting. Speaking to the The Associated Press, Driver still can’t wrap his head around Disney passing on a "Star Wars" movie that Soderbergh actually wanted to make. "Steven Soderbergh wants to make a 'Star Wars' film," he said. "What are we debating?"
He went further, calling the decision "criminal," or at least saying it felt that way. Then he pivoted, glass half full, saying Soderbergh "already has something else."
Driver hasn't confirmed he's attached, but you don't bring up your director's next script while mourning your dead project together unless you've read it. It would be his second Soderbergh film after 2017's "Logan Lucky."
I've been trying to track what Soderbergh has on deck all year, and the signals have been mixed. Back in April, he told Filmmaker Magazine about "Ascenso," a Spanish-American War movie with Wagner Moura attached. He said two studios were circling, more casting was still needed, and he planned to lean on "a lot of AI" to keep costs down. Around the same time, he mentioned a second screenplay, "Bloodworth Manor."
My guess? "Ascenso" already has its lead in Moura, so if Driver is talking about a script he's read and loves, "Bloodworth Manor" is the more likely candidate.
Whatever it is, it may have to wait. Last month, Soderbergh stepped in to finish shooting "The Batman: Part II" in London while Matt Reeves stepped away for family reasons, with roughly six weeks of filming left. Reeves is staying in touch during the shoot and will come back for post.
That means there's no Soderbergh movie in the can for 2027, which almost never happens with this guy. He told Filmmaker Magazine in April that he wasn't set to shoot anything of his own this year. Look at the run: "Logan Lucky" (2017), "Unsane" (2018), "High Flying Bird" and "The Laundromat" (2019), "Let Them All Talk" (2020), "No Sudden Move" (2021), "Kimi" (2022), "Magic Mike's Last Dance" (2023), "Presence" (2024), "Black Bag" (2025) and "The Christophers" (2026). That's a new movie every year since 2017.
Adam Driver is still not over "The Hunt for Ben Solo," but there's a silver lining: Steven Soderbergh has already moved on to a new script, and Driver calls it one of the best things Soderbergh has ever written.