Steven Soderbergh Thought Adam Driver’s ‘Star Wars’ Movie Would Be ‘The Greatest Thing’ He’s Ever Made

Steven Soderbergh may never have been able to shoot his “Star Wars” film with Adam Pilotebut that won’t slow him down. While promoting his new film “The Christophers,” the Oscar-winning director revealed that the project, tentatively titled “The Hunt for Ben Solo,” was “going to be the most important thing” he’s ever attempted to make.

In October 2025, Adam Driver revealed that he planned to return to a galaxy far, far away with his character, Ben Solo, who was redeemed from the dark side and ultimately died in “The Rise of Skywalker” in 2019. Although Lucasfilm initially seemed on board with the idea, Driver claimed that Disney CEO Bob Iger abandoned the film after not seeing how Ben Solo could come back to life.

Soderbergh has since expressed his “frustration” and “disappointment” that the project was abandoned, telling BK Mag “it was two and a half years of free work for me and Adam and [writer] Rebecca Blunt.

Soderbergh told Adam Driver not to ‘editorialize’ why the film was canceled

He continued: “When Adam and I discussed his public discussion, I said, ‘Look, don’t op-ed and don’t 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.”

In another interview with the Daily Beast, Soderbergh admitted: “In recent years, most of the projects have been small or medium-sized, and I wanted something a little bigger. »

He went on to say: “Star Wars was going to occupy this place. This was going to be the most important thing I ever attempted to achieve. And I was excited about working on a large canvas. You know, it’s been a long time. I’m trying to do other projects that will satisfy this desire.

After admitting that he had been working on “The Hunt For Ben Solo” for a “long time”, he compared it to “complaining about the weather”, saying: “You just have to understand it. It’s the artist’s job to adapt”.

Soderbergh not afraid to approach another franchise

When asked if he was afraid to tackle another franchise after his experience with Disney, Soderbergh jokingly called himself “the cockroach of nuclear winter.”

“There’s no version of the business that I don’t think I can find a solution to,” he said. “I didn’t view this as entering the maw of a machine that was going to devour me. It’s conceivable – whether it’s an idea that I generate or whether I’m approached by something that’s ‘hell yeah!’ – that I find myself working in a franchise context. That doesn’t worry me. I can function properly in this atmosphere. “

Steven Soderbergh reveals his stance on another ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ film

Soderbergh was also asked in the interview if he plans to revisit the world of “Ocean’s Eleven.” Although some fans were eagerly awaiting his return to the franchise, especially after the failure of his “Star Wars” project with Adam Driver, Soderbergh seemed ready to hand over the reins to someone else.

“Between the three, I made Gary’s film[[Ocean 8]I put in the hours. Honestly, someone else should take ownership,” he said. “I’ve put my signature on the three that I’ve done, and it’s all ready for someone else to do it, and they should do it.”

“They’re tricky, but they’re fun. And it’s fun to create fun things,” he added. “I have very good memories of my The Ocean have to, but it’s someone else’s turn. I don’t know what else to give him.