I Think Star Wars Should Absolutely Bring Back Adam Driver’s Ben Solo

Star Wars fans are choosing to make their voices heard over the latest cancelled movie, The Hunt for Ben Solo. The franchise’s future has been under something of a cloud since the end of the sequel trilogy, with the franchise abandoning the big screen in favor of a range of Star Wars Disney+ TV series. By the time next year’s The Mandalorian and Grogu releases, it will have been seven years since the last Star Wars movie. Even that doesn’t advance the timeline; we’ve had no news of Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s “New Jedi Order” film since its announcement in 2023.

We now know why Lucasfilm has struggled to figure out a direction, though. The studio’s original plan was to make The Hunt for Ben Solo, a movie that starred Adam Driver’s Ben Solo in a mysterious resurrection plot. Steven Soderbergh had written a full script, Lucasfilm had fully approved it, and there was even an allocated budget and start date. Then Disney pulled the plug, with Bob Iger and Alan Bergman rejecting the idea. Star Wars has been in limbo ever since.

Ben Solo’s Return Is the Logical Next Step For Star Wars

To be fair, it’s easy to see why Iger and Bergman were wary. This was Lucasfilm’s first plan in the aftermath of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, a film that already featured the most controversial resurrection in Star Wars history. Now Lucasfilm planned to follow that up by bringing someone else back from the dead. The script had progressed during Bob Chapek’s tenure as Disney CEO, and now Iger was back, and clearly not convinced that Lucasfilm should double down on this kind of story.

It is, however, already clear that this was not another “somehow, Palpatine returned.” Palpatine’s resurrection was poorly set up and barely explained, making it an unsatisfying end to the Skywalker saga. In contrast, The Hunt for Ben Solo‘s script clearly makes Ben’s resurrection the center of its story, which means it’s reasonable to assume a lot of effort had gone into explaining it. It’s up to the storyteller to persuade viewers that such a resurrection is worth it, and Iger and Bergman’s fears seem exaggerated.

Ben Solo’s Death Leaves the Skywalker Saga Feeling Unfinished

There’s a huge difference in narrative terms too. Palpatine’s original death was the logical end of the original trilogy, coming in a franchise-redefining scene of redemption for Darth Vader. In contrast, Ben Solo’s death was just a rinse-and-repeat of Return of the Jedi‘s formula (albeit with a kiss between Rey and Ben that Lucasfilm insist was one of “gratitude”). It genuinely feels as though the character died simply as another “rhyme” to the original trilogy, not because it worked in the story.

There is, in fact, something incredibly dark about Ben Solo’s death when it is viewed through the lens of Princess Leia’s legacy. Leia abandoned her Jedi path because she sensed that Ben’s death lay at the end of it; he died anyway, making all the choices she made over those long years feel pointless. Again, it makes sense in franchise terms for Star Wars to double down on the idea of there being consequences for surrendering to fear, but it’s not exactly satisfying – or an even remotely upbeat ending to the Skywalker saga.

Absent Ben’s resurrection, Rey is literally Leia’s last legacy. Everything else Leia dedicated her life to has burned down: the New Republic collapsed after the destruction of Hosnian Prime, her marriage to Han had failed and her husband was already dead, and now her son too had died. Only Rey remains, a young woman Leia mentored for just a year. The Rise of Skywalker ends Leia’s story on a shockingly bleak note, and oddly, you get the feeling the scriptwriters didn’t even notice. Ben’s resurrection would change that, giving Leia a much more solid legacy.

Ben Solo’s Resurrection Is A Chance For Star Wars To Grow & Change

The Hunt for Ben Solo had (and, let’s be honest, has) the potential to be something of a triumphant epilogue to the Skywalker saga. Anakin Skywalker fell to the dark side after Palpatine promised him the power to conquer death, and it would so very fitting for Star Wars to reveal at the end that the key to resurrection lies in the light and not the dark, in selfless love and not selfish attachment. Ben Solo would become the very embodiment of hope, a delightful twist that would tie things up quite neatly.

Even better, though, Ben’s resurrection would mean Star Wars finally began to tread new ground. Darth Vader’s redemption was an iconic moment in cinema history, but the “redemption through death” trope has become overused since then, losing its power. It’s much more intriguing to imagine a redeemed Ben Solo, a man who was manipulated by the dark side (rather than freely choosing it), who must now live with the consequences of his actions.

It’s further impossible to consider The Hunt for Ben Solo without imagining its impact on Rey. The Force Dyad – the mysterious bond between Rey and Ben – was one of the most exciting ideas in The Rise of Skywalker, but Ben’s death brought that whole concept to an abrupt end before it had ever really begun to be explored. Bringing Ben back would change everything, allowing Star Wars to explore their uncanny connection in more detail, and hopefully even daring to challenge the question of whether there can truly be a Jedi romance.

Both Driver and Soderbergh believe The Hunt for Ben Solo is dead now (which is why they’re willing to talk about it at last). We can only hope the reactions of outrage from the Star Wars fandom, which seems more united than it has been in years, will force Disney to reconsider. Ben Solo’s resurrection story feels like the best possible direction for this struggling franchise, a way to breathe new life into the galaxy itself. Iger and Bergman made a mistake with this one, and it needs to be put right.

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