Prolific director Steven Soderbergh have no problem with Adam Pilote. The Oscar-winning director, who found success with the The ocean trilogy, was working on a film starring Ben Solo, a character who played a prominent role in the “Star Wars” sequel trilogy. Although the character was supposed to have died at the end of 2019’s “The Rise of Skywalker,” the actor had the idea to bring the character back. After initially gaining approval from Lucasfilm, the idea was scrapped by Disney executives and the project is, according to Soderbergh, officially dead.
Steven Soderbergh clears the air
While promoting his new film, “The Christophers,” Variety couldn’t pass up an opportunity to ask him about his canceled “Star Wars” film. When they asked him what he learned while trying to make the film, he replied: “That there is no time wasted. »
“It was great working on this with Adam Driver and [writers] Rebecca Blunt and Scott Burns,” he continued. “Sometimes that’s how things happen. I know what we came up with was good. I think that would have excited the audience. Working with smart people, trying to solve problems, that’s how you get better.
In the interview, Soderbergh revealed that Driver “felt bad” about getting him involved, only to see the project end up in the editing room.
“Adam felt bad for involving me. I think he felt like he was wasting my time, and I made it clear to him, ‘Dude, it wasn’t a waste of time.’ It’s a problem-solving experience that will be applied to everything I do in the future,” Soderbergh said.
“I’m not upset. I feel positive about everything we’ve done together,” he added.
“If it was going to happen, it would have happened”
In a separate interview with The Playlist, Soderbergh confirmed that the film was dead, saying, “Look, if it was going to happen, it would have happened. » He also reiterated that he didn’t think the project was wasting his time.
“I don’t regret a single minute of the time we spent working on this,” he explained. “I thought the work was good. It’s just good for you to be in that room and working there. It’s like CrossFit – it’s good for you. It will have a residual effect that will be unexpected at some point.”
“As soon as it became obvious, OK, that wasn’t going to happen, I sat down and started writing [something else]”, Soderbergh said. “It’s like, ‘OK, new scenario, let’s start cracking.'” At some point, it’s like complaining about the weather. You just have to keep moving forward.
Soderbergh says the idea for the story was Adam Driver’s idea
While it’s unclear what the film would have been about, Soderbergh revealed that the idea for the film actually came from the actor.
“It was strictly Adam saying, ‘I think there’s still something to be done with this character.’ That’s how it all started,” Soderbergh revealed. “Otherwise, I would never have found myself in this universe in a million years.”
But when asked if he would ever return to the project, Soderbergh responded very simply: “No.”
Steven Soderbergh is ‘frustrated’ by film’s cancellation
This isn’t the first time Soderbergh has addressed the film’s cancellation. In an interview with BK Mag in February 2026, the director said they were “all frustrated” that the film was abandoned before they could even discuss a budget.
“You know, that was two and a half years of free work for me, Adam and [writer] Rebecca Blunt,” he explained. “When Adam and I talked about him talking about this publicly, I said, ‘Look, don’t editorialize and speculate on why. Just say what happened, because all we know is what happened. The reason given was: “We don’t think Ben Solo is alive.” » And that’s all we were told. And so there’s nothing to do, you know, except move on.
“I had kind of made the movie in my head, and I felt bad that no one else could see it,” he continued. “I thought the conversation would be strictly practical: Where are they going, how much is it going to cost? And I had a very good answer to that question. But we never even got to that point. It’s insane. We’re all very disappointed.”
