Bad news for “Star Wars” fans: Adam Driver is squashing any possibility of returning as Kylo Ren to the galaxy.
On a recent episode of “The Rich Eisen Show,” Eisen asked Driver if he thought he’d ever play the villain in the franchise again. The “Girls” actor responded: ‘Yeah, it’s over… No more ‘Star Wars.’” We “tried to do one more,” said Driver “but they’re like, ‘No, he’s dead,’” referring to Disney studio executives Bob Iger and Alan Bergman, who rejected a screenplay for a standalone movie centered on Kylo Ren that he’d pitched with Steven Soderbergh.
“I always was interested in doing another ‘Star Wars,’” Driver said at the time. “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.”
During the interview, Driver continued, reiterating that Soderbergh was attached to direct, and that “we worked on it for a few years, really and earnestly. We got a script together that was really good with Scott Burns, Rebecca Blunt, and Soderbergh and I. We all worked on it… It was awesome. It was really cool. But you know, I don’t get to decide.”
Eisen then pressed Driver on whether he’d return if someone were to “resurrect” the project. “If they wanted to, fine. But we’re not… It’s not our call,” said Driver. “I think the ship has sailed though.” Driver did acknowledge the “fans response” to the dropped film, which he described as “pretty incredible.” I didn’t expect that it was going to be billboards and people flying planes over Disney and things like that. That was pretty cool.”
Back when the news broke about the film, a group of “Star Wars” fans paid for a plane to fly a banner reading “Save The Hunt for Ben Solo” over Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California.
In April, Soderbergh shared a similar sentiment to Driver, saying that the film “would have happened,” “if it was gonna happen.”