Adam Driver Says the Door to ‘Star Wars’ Is Closed for Good After a Comeback Attempt Fell Apart

Driver played Kylo Ren across three films: ‘The Force Awakens’ in 2015, ‘The Last Jedi’ in 2017 and ‘The Rise of Skywalker’ in 2019. Few franchise villains have had such a messy, compelling journey, and few actors have used a blockbuster role as a springboard the way Driver did.

Even so, Kylo Ren has never fully stopped haunting the conversation around him. Driver said on the ‘SmartLess’ podcast that others were making new ‘Star Wars’ projects but he wasn’t part of them, and that he wasn’t planning to do any more. The last ‘Star Wars’ movie to reach theaters in the Kylo Ren timeline was ‘The Rise of Skywalker’ in 2019.

Now Driver has put it more bluntly. Appearing on ‘The Rich Eisen Show’, he was asked whether he was finished playing Kylo Ren and answered with a quick yes. ComicBook.com shared his comments on X, and the actor didn’t mince words.

“We tried to do one more, but they were like, ‘He’s dead.'” he said. “It’s over…. If they wanted too, fine. But it’s not our call.”

The “we” in that statement is a heavy one. Driver, filmmaker Steven Soderbergh and writer Rebecca Blunt developed a film that would have taken place after ‘The Rise of Skywalker’ and followed Ben Solo on a redemptive path. The group also brought in Scott Z. Burns, and the project spent roughly 2 years in development.

According to Driver, the effort did not die for lack of enthusiasm at Lucasfilm. He has said the script was presented to Lucasfilm and that the studio loved the idea. The project, titled ‘The Hunt for Ben Solo’, was reportedly turned down by Disney’s Bob Iger and Alan Bergman, and Driver described Burns’ script as one of the coolest he’d read.

The story first surfaced in an Associated Press interview. Driver revealed in the piece, published on Oct. 20, 2025, that the project was “no more,” which is why he could finally speak about it. He also had glowing words for Soderbergh, calling him one of his favorite directors of all time.

Fans were not quiet about the news. The cancellation sparked an internet outcry, with many asking who wouldn’t want to see a Soderbergh-directed ‘Star Wars’ film. Pajiba argued that after ‘Andor’ showed what the franchise can do when it lets an auteur loose, Disney should have been knocking on their door.

That reaction gives Driver’s latest remarks extra weight. It’s one thing for an actor to say he’s moved on, and another for him to describe a finished, well-liked script that never got the green light. His tone is resigned rather than bitter, and he frames the decision as something that belongs to the studio, not to him.

Meanwhile, the franchise is marching forward without him. ‘Star Wars: Starfighter’ is currently in production for a May 28, 2027 release. Whether Lucasfilm ever circles back to Ben Solo remains an open question, but for now, the man who played him has stopped waiting by the phone.