Kylo Ren/Ben Solo actor Adam Driver recently revealed that after working on the sequel trilogy of Star Wars films, he and acclaimed director Steven Soderbergh pitched a new Star Wars movie to Lucasfilm. But because the movie was set after 2019’s Rise of Skywalker and starred Ben Solo, who dies at the end of that film, Disney allegedly passed on the project, which was tentatively named The Hunt for Ben Solo. 

In a new interview with the Associated Press, Driver talked about his career, his love of working with talented filmmakers, and the struggle to get projects funded and approved. And during this conversation, he talked about a previously unknown Star Wars film that he and Soderbergh were pitching to Lucasfilm and Disney around 2021.

“I always was interested in doing another Star Wars,” Driver told the AP. “I had been talking about doing another one since 2021. [Lucasfilm] had reached out. I always said: With a great director and a great story, I’d be there in a second. I loved [Kylo Ren] and loved playing him.”

So Driver teamed up with director Soderbergh and Rebecca Blunt to create an outline for a film that would star Ben Solo, the son of Han Solo, who in the sequel trilogy has fallen to the Dark Side and become Kylo Ren. However, by the end of The Rise of Skywalker, Solo has redeemed himself, turned good, and eventually sacrifices his life to save Rey’s. Apparently, according to Driver, Lucasfilm execs loved it. So the group hired Scott Z. Burns to write a full script, which Driver told the AP was “one of the coolest (expletive) scripts I had ever been a part of.” Next, it was time to pitch the movie to Disney. And that’s when it all fell apart.

“We took it to [Disney CEO] Bob Iger and [Disney co-chairman] Alan Bergman, and they said no,” said Driver. “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.”

The AP reached out to Soderbergh, who confirmed Driver’s story and added, “I really enjoyed making the movie in my head. I’m just sorry the fans won’t get to see it.”

According to Driver, the plan was to be “judicial” and “economical” with the proposed film’s budget, and for it to be in the “same spirit” as older Star Wars movies, which are “handmade and character driven.” But sadly, Disney didn’t want to bring back Ben Solo. Meanwhile, remember when Disney brought the fucking Emperor back to life because it gave up on the sequel trilogy’s main villains halfway through? We live in the worst timeline.