Steven Soderbergh says his Adam Driver-led Star Wars project never even got to the money talk. In a new interview with BKMag.com, the director says he, Driver, and writer Rebecca Blunt spent two and a half years developing The Hunt for Ben Solo, only to be told by Disney that "we don't think Ben Solo could be alive"—and that was the end of it. Soderbergh says he assumed the next step would be a budget conversation and that he had "a really good answer" ready, but "it never even got to that point."
"We're all very disappointed," he notes, calling the entire situation "insane." Driver first disclosed the project last fall, saying he'd been open to returning to the Star Wars world if there was a strong script and director, and that this one hit that mark, likening it to the character-centric feel of The Empire Strikes Back, per Variety. According to Driver and Soderbergh, Lucasfilm leaders, including Kathleen Kennedy, were on board, but Disney's Bob Iger and Alan Bergman said no.
Soderbergh says Kennedy told him it was the first time Disney had rejected a fully finished Lucasfilm script. Fans have been campaigning to put the project back on track, and Gizmodo notes there've also been whispers that "now that Disney has a new CEO" and Lucasfilm has new leadership, "maybe Soderbergh and Driver will be asked to make the movie again." However, the outlet notes, "we think this ship has sailed."
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