Prolific film director Steven Soderbergh has shared more about his feelings towards his cancelled Star Wars film, The Hunt for Ben Solo, which he had previously been developing with franchise star Adam Driver.
As the title suggests, the film would have brought back Driver’s character – the troubled son of Han Solo and Princess Leia, also known as Kylo Ren – in a story set after the events of 2019’s divisive The Rise of Skywalker.
Soderbergh and Driver previously worked together on 2017 heist comedy Logan Lucky, which earned very positive reviews from critics, but underwhelming box office returns.
Previously, the actor revealed (via AP) that Lucasfilm executives were enthusiastic about the idea, but Disney bosses Bob Iger and Alan Bergman “said no” as they didn’t see a way that Solo could plausibly return from his demise in the previous film.
Now, in a new interview with Variety, Ocean’s Eleven and Erin Brockovich filmmaker Soderbergh has revealed that Driver “felt bad” for ever involving him in the failed project, with his interpretation being that he’d “wasted my time”.
But the director had a more positive outlook on the film, despite it’s ultimate fate.
“There’s no such thing as wasted creative time,” he said. “It was great to work on that with Adam Driver and [writers] Rebecca Blunt and Scott Burns. Sometimes that’s just the way things go.
“I know what we came up with was good. I think it would have excited audiences. Working with smart people, trying to solve s**t, is how you get better… It’s a problem-solving experience that will get applied to everything I do going forward.”
Soderbergh concluded by assuring that he’s “not upset” about the outcome and feels “positive about everything that we did together” on The Hunt for Ben Solo.
Nevertheless, the Academy Award winner (for 2001’s Traffic) isn’t interested in trying to resurrect the project, as was suggested to him after both Lucasfilm and Disney saw changes in their leadership.
“Nope,” he said bluntly to The Playlist earlier this week. “At a certain point, it’s like complaining about the weather. You just gotta keep moving… If it was gonna happen, it would have happened.”
Star Wars is returning to cinemas for the first time since The Rise of Skywalker in next month’s The Mandalorian and Grogu, which continues the story of the hit Disney+ series. Pedro Pascal and Sigourney Weaver lead the cast.
Next year, Project Hail Mary star Ryan Gosling returns to outer space for his own entry in the franchise, Star Wars: Starfighter, which is directed by Deadpool & Wolverine‘s Shawn Levy.
Star Wars films and shows are streaming on Disney+. Sign-up to Disney+ from £5.99 a month.
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