Adam Driver's canceled solo Star Wars film highlights a growing list of axed projects at Lucasfilm. Since Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012, the studio has focused on providing a steady stream of Star Wars projects to add to its catalogue of franchise IP. This began in 2015 with Episode VII: The Force Awakens, the start of a new sequel trilogy at Lucasfilm in the Disney era. However, since then, many Star Wars projects have failed to gain the green light.
One such project that recently came to light was a spin-off of the sequel trilogy, which would have starred Adam Driver as Ben Solo (aka the reformed Kylo Ren). The actor recently revealed to the Associated Press that he was open to returning as his sequel trilogy character and had backed a film titled The Hunt for Ben Solo. The film received a script and gained approval from the powers at Lucasfilm, but Driver revealed that when they presented it to Disney executives Bob Iger and Alan Bergman, it was shot down:
Adam Driver: "It was called 'The Hunt for Ben Solo' and it was really cool. But it is no more, so I can finally talk about it. We presented the script to Lucasfilm. They loved the idea. They totally understood our angle and why we were doing it. We took it to Bob Iger and Alan Bergman and they said no. They didn’t see how Ben Solo was alive. And that was that."
Driver's intended return comes as a surprise, seeing as Ben Solo was killed off in the finale of Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker. However, the Star Wars universe has never been afraid to bring back presumed dead characters, like Darth Maul and Emperor Palpatine. Kylo Ren/Ben Solo was always a fan favorite, and many Star Wars fans have been vocal about their disappointment that this spin-off film has been canceled. That being said, it is far from the first time that a Star Wars project has been abandoned since Disney took over Lucasfilm.
Other Star Wars Projects Canceled By Disney
Rangers of the New Republic
Following the success of The Mandalorian on Disney+, Disney went ahead and announced a new spin-off TV series titled Rangers of the New Republic. The series would've starred Gina Carano as her The Mandalorian character, Cara Dune, and was produced by Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau.
The series stalled when Disney severed ties with Carano, and Lucasfilm CEO Kathleen Kennedy confirmed in 2022 that Rangers of the New Republic had been abandoned, with its storylines to be absorbed by future seasons of The Mandalorian.
Rogue Squadron
Patty Jenkins' Star Wars fighter pilot film Rogue Squadron has been a rollercoaster ride at Lucasfilm since its 2020 announcement. The movie, which would reportedly have been a Top Gun-style story about new pilots in the Rebellion, was announced with a flashy intro video from Jenkins and had set a Christmas 2023 release date.
Due to scheduling problems with Jenkins' commitments to other projects, this was inevitably delayed. In 2022, it was reiterated that Jenkins had signed a new deal with Lucasfilm to continue working on the project, although a year later, it was reported that the movie had been canceled.
The film's status remains unknown, even after Jenkins was reported to have renewed her deal in 2024 to continue working on the project. Lucasfilm has several unannounced films on its slate for the next few years, which could be reserved for Jenkins' movie, but Rogue Squadron continues to switch between being in development and being on the shelf.
Jabba the Hutt Movie
An origin story for the notorious crime boss, Jabba the Hutt, was once on the table at Lucasfilm, with Guillermo del Toro intended to direct and a script written by David S. Goyer. The Jabba the Hutt movie first came to light in 2017, but never moved forward despite a script and concept art being produced.
In an appearance on Happy Sad Confused, Goyer said, "There was a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff going on at Lucasfilm at the time," which seemed to have led to the movie's cancellation. The pairing of del Toro and the Star Wars universe was a match made in heaven, making this film's cancellation one of the more disappointing.
David Benioff & D.B. Weiss' Star Wars Trilogy
Following the completion of Game of Thrones, showrunners David Benioff & D.B. Weiss were set to shift their sights to the Star Wars universe with a new trilogy of films. This was an exciting prospect for fans eager to see how the fantasy showrunners would tackle the legacy sci-fi universe.
Unfortunately, the creatives parted ways with Lucasfilm, reportedly due to scheduling issues and their partnership at Netflix, where they are currently working on 3 Body Problem.
However, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter years after their Star Wars project was abandoned, Benioff revealed that their pitch involved the origins of the Jedi Order, and that Lucasfilm was not interested in pursuing their idea, which led to its cancelation:
"[Lucasfilm] ended up not wanting to do a First Jedi story. We had a very specific story idea in mind, and ultimately they decided they didn’t want to do that. And we totally get it. It’s their company and their IP, but we weren’t the droids they were looking for."
Kevin Feige's Star Wars Film
Marvel Studios CEO Kevin Feige was once set to move to a galaxy far, far away, until momentum stalled on his project. Despite Kathleen Kennedy's claims that nothing was ever set in stone with Feige and Star Wars, evidence over the years suggests a film was in development, with Loki writer Michael Waldron hired at one point to write the script for the film, which would be produced by Feige.
In 2023, it was reported that Feige's Star Wars film had been canceled, with the CEO remaining focused on Marvel Studios. While this may have been good news for the MCU, it's still disappointing for fans who would've liked to see the Marvel CEO's approach to Disney's other major cinematic universe.
