Star Wars fans were both shocked and disappointed when Adam Driver confirmed earlier this year that he was trying to make a Ben Solo movie with Steven Soderbergh, with sequel trilogy star Daisy Ridley now weighing in on the news, with her similarly expressing her disappointment. Ridley was the first major star of the sequel trilogy to be confirmed to return to the franchise, as she was announced to be reprising her role of Rey in a movie focusing on the rise of a New Jedi Order, with her enthusiasm for the franchise and Driver now having us wishing the pair could reunite in the galaxy far, far away.
While speaking with IGN, Ridley confirmed she had heard about the project, and expressed her surprise that Driver was the one to reveal the news:
“I knew a piece of it. I heard rumblings … I have lots of friends who are crew, so things always travel like that. But, whoa! When the story came out, no, I was like, ‘Oh, my God!’ And it was [Driver] that said it, right?”
She added, “It was funny because, like, ‘Oh, wow, Adam is saying it,’ and that’s the big surprise of the year.”
Calling the sequel trilogy divisive is a bit of an understatement, as some audiences appreciated the ways it honored the past, while others were disappointed with it feeling repetitive, and others appreciated the ways in which it attempted to forge a new path, while some thought it veered too far away from core elements of the series.
Ridley herself faced significant backlash when the films were released, causing her to leave social media, with the actor sharing her excitement about the fan outcry over Ben Solo:
“I do love when there is a collective of positivity … The way the internet seems to have rallied to try and get it to happen. I think one), it’s fantastic for us all. It’s good for us to all be united about something in a really positive way. Obviously, everyone knows he was a very popular character, but it was also lovely to think, ‘Wow, people really, really care and want this.’ I just… I like it. I like when people join forces — excuse the pun — from all around the world, all different sorts of people. I just love that the Star Wars fandom is such a huge and gorgeous array of different points of view and different people, and the fact that everyone is really behind this thing, I think, is just sort of lovely, in a time that is so f***ing nuts for probably every single person on this Earth. I think it’s wonderful. So I was surprised, and honestly, I felt joyful about how it went down.”
What Was the Ben Solo ‘Star Wars’ Movie?
In Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Driver’s Kylo Ren abandoned the Dark Side to become Ben Solo, making a sacrifice in order to save Ridley’s Rey. Understandably, Ben Solo’s death led many to believe Driver was done with the saga for good, yet he shared a surprising update about spin-off movie with AP News:
“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.
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.”
While other actors in the Star Wars saga have been more candid over the years about their interest, or disinterest, in reprising their roles, many had ruled out Driver ever returning, yet he confirmed, “I always was interested in doing another Star Wars. I had been talking about doing another one since 2021. [Lucasfilm president] Kathleen [Kennedy] had reached out. I always said: ‘With a great director and a great story, I’d be there in a second. I loved that character and loved playing him.’”
Even though Ridley herself has been announced as returning for a sequel, no substantial updates about that sequel have been revealed since it was first announced in 2023.
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