Overview
- Steven Soderbergh told BK Mag the team spent roughly 2.5 years developing The Hunt for Ben Solo with Adam Driver and Rebecca Blunt, calling the outcome "insane" and "very disappointing."
- According to Soderbergh, Disney’s stated reason for saying no was disbelief that Ben Solo could be alive, and the decision came before any discussion of costs or production logistics.
- Adam Driver previously said Lucasfilm leaders embraced the take and submitted a completed Scott Z. Burns script, but Disney executives Bob Iger and Alan Bergman declined to greenlight it.
- Kathleen Kennedy has described the script as strong and, per Soderbergh, indicated it was the first time a finished Lucasfilm movie script was rejected at the Disney level.
- Fan campaigns urging a reversal have included billboards and a plane banner, and while leadership changes at Disney and Lucasfilm are seen by some as an opening, no reconsideration has been announced.