After Adam Driver gave an interview to AP, it came to the internet’s attention that there was a finished script for a new Star Wars film titled The Hunt For Ben Solo. It was pitched by the prolific Steven Soderbergh and Adam Driver himself, with Scott Z. Burns set to write the screenplay. It jumped through all the hoops, making its way to the top of Lucasfilm, where it was approved. However, Disney rejected it—making it the first time that the company has ever rejected a completed script. Why? Because the company that greenlit “somehow Palpatine has returned” couldn’t see how Ben Solo being alive wouldn’t mess with the story continuity put forth in the sequel trilogy.
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On Bluesky, Soderberg laid out his confusion, saying, “Also, in the aftermath of the ‘HFBS’ 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.” And the internet completely, and justifiably, lost its collective mind. A website popped up seemingly overnight with a mission statement: “The Hunt for Ben Solo campaign exists to keep the spark alive for a story that deserves to be told. Our mission is to inform, inspire, and unite fans through art, satire, and creativity — proving that passion and imagination can ignite the fire that brings The Hunt for Ben Solo to life.” A plane was chartered to fly over Burbank, a banner trailing behind it that read “Save #TheHuntForBenSolo.” And now a billboard has shown up in Times Square, declaring “Hope lives. Ben is alive!”
A Ben Solo Movie Is Exactly What Star Wars Needs
Many fans have scrubbed The Rise Of Skywalker from their consciousness, especially those who loved Ben Solo and his darker counterpart, Kylo Ren. The Hunt For Ben Solo represented a hope that Star Wars might finally be walking back what many considered a terrible choice about his fate—that his redemption was solely attainable through his death, a message that was deeply uncomfortable for many people and deeply unsatisfying for nearly everyone else. A few days ago, Matthew Wood, the Lucasfilm sound editor and voice of Lego Kylo, asked the fans at Spacecon if they wanted The Hunt For Ben Solo to become a reality. What he then recorded was a whole lot of excited cheering. He then said that he would be sending the video to Lucasfilm.
In the midst of all this, a Change.org petition has started making the rounds, and even the official Star Wars YouTube channel has said its piece, posting a clip of the fight between Rey and Ben Solo against Palpatine at the end of The Rise of Skywalker. It seems like everyone is on board for more Ben Solo, so Disney really should just give the people what they want.
What are your thoughts on Ben Solo returning to Star Wars? Let us know in the comments! And then head over to the ComicBook forum to see what other fans are saying.
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Image courtesy of Focus Features.
