One of the most surprising Star Wars movies of the Disney era, which didn’t end up happening, could’ve done for the franchise something it never had the chance to with Darth Vader. There’s a long list of cancelled and rejected Star Wars movies from the 13 years of Lucasfilm being under Disney’s ownership. These range from Colin Trevorrow’s version of Episode IX – titled Duel of the Fates – through to Patty Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron and even a movie about Jabba the Hutt from Guillermo del Toro.
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Even with all of those, however, one of the more shocking was only recently revealed, with Adam Driver discussing a potential Ben Solo movie set after The Rise of Skywalker. He would’ve been back to star, with Steven Soderbergh directing and a script from Scott Z. Burns. Lucasfilm was on board, but Disney shot the idea down as they didn’t see how Ben could be alive after dying in The Rise of Skywalker (because, famously, no Star Wars character has returned from the dead, not even once).
The Hunt for Ben Solo Would’ve Been Like Seeing Vader After Return of the Jedi
Called The Hunt for Ben Solo, the movie presumably (given that title) would’ve seen different factions learning of Ben’s survival and searching for him. As one of the most powerful Force users left in the galaxy, and someone who had ruled the now-defeated First Order, it’s not hard to think of why he’d be rather important. We know very little of the galaxy post-The Rise of Skywalker – though some upcoming movies should fix that – so there’s little to guide exactly how it would’ve looked, but one thing to note is how it would’ve been a continuation we never got with Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker.
Ben Solo/Kylo Ren was the Star Wars sequels’ replacement for Vader/Anakin: the prodigiously gifted Padawan who falls to the dark side, manipulated by Emperor Palpatine, before returning to the light and defeating the villain to help save the hero they care about, finding true redemption in death. We don’t get to see much of what happened next to Anakin. In canon, he’s made only a couple of appearances as a Force Ghost post-Return of the Jedi, and there wasn’t that much more beyond it in Legends either.
It’s also certainly not something George Lucas would’ve done. While he did have various plans for Star Wars sequels that would’ve involved returning original trilogy characters, Vader/Anakin was not one of them. Speaking with Total Film back in 2008, he said: “The Star Wars story is really the tragedy of Darth Vader. That is the story. Once Vader dies, he doesn’t come back to life.” Of course, he also says in that quote there wouldn’t be more movies, when he did have ideas and plans at different stages, but it seems like Vader’s story is one that absolutely would’ve stayed finished, which may not be the case with Kylo/Ben.
It’s Better If Ben Solo Doesn’t Return (& Anakin Should Be Used Sparingly Too)
There’s a lot to like about the idea of The Hunt for Ben Solo. Soderbergh is a fantastic director, and a different one to what we’ve seen before with Star Wars. Driver, similarly, is a phenomenal actor, and his performance as Kylo Ren was one of the best parts of the sequel trilogy, bringing a lot of nuance to the role that helped make him more than just a Vader redux. And given he called it one of the greatest scripts he’s read, that’s worth something too, so if the movie were to ever happen, perhaps they would pull off something really cool.
At the same time, I can’t say I’m too disappointed that it isn’t happening. I certainly think the sequels could’ve done a better job with Ben’s redemption in The Rise of Skywalker (and, well, many other things), but it was at least complete. There’s nowhere his story really needs to go, and the franchise could probably benefit with at least some characters staying dead.
Rey, given The Rise of Skywalker‘s ending with her taking on the Skywalker name, should have a bright future where she leads the next generation of Jedi, and becomes the hero for a new generation of fans. And if Ben’s Force Ghost appears in her New Jedi Order movie (if it ever happens), that’d be fine too. But otherwise the franchise is probably better off moving on. There’s lots to explore beyond the sequels and it’s good the saga is moving in that direction, because it can also mean new characters, stories, worlds, and concepts.
Interestingly, given all of this, it comes at a time when we know Anakin is coming back, in a fashion. After appearing in Ahsoka Season 1, Hayden Christensen will be back again for Season 2. This will likely include his Force Ghost, which was seen watching over Ahsoka Tano and Sabine Wren on Peridea. More of Anakin and Ahsoka is no bad thing, so long as the focus is kept on their relationship and what they mean to one another. The more Star Wars brings post-Return Anakin back, the less impact it’ll have, as nice as it is to see Christensen being celebrated in the role, though mixing it in with things like the Clone Wars flashbacks is a good way to do more.
That could also be an option for Ben Solo, too. There are compelling stories about him before the sequels – and don’t necessarily need movies to tell them, as seen with comic series such as The Rise of Kylo Ren. There’s plenty to do with the character, whether it’s on screen or not, that doesn’t mean bringing him back to life.
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