Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Star Wars: Legacy of Vader
It was recently revealed that Disney rejected a pitch for the Hunt for Ben Solo. While wildly unfortunate, this disappointing news doesn’t mean Star Wars is done with Kylo Ren, by any means.
Many Star Wars fans are currently campaigning for Disney to reverse its decision to reject this spin-off set after The Rise of Skywalker, with a script that was developed over two years. While the odds of reviving the project are slim, the Star Wars franchise has been actively releasing a brand-new Kylo Ren story with Legacy of Vader.
Disney Rejected Adam Driver and Lucasfilm’s Pitch For The Hunt for Ben Solo
Ben Solo star Adam Driver recently revealed he and director Steven Soderbergh developed a Star Wars spin-off titled The Hunt for Ben Solo, co-written with Scott Z. Burns. Set after The Rise of Skywalker, the film would have explored Ben Solo’s redemption and storylines Driver felt were left unresolved by the sequels.
Developed over two years with support from Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy and Dave Filoni, the script was reportedly completed prior to the pitch that was made to Disney. However, Disney executives Bob Iger and Alan Bergman rejected the project.
Apparently, Iger and Bergman were unable to reconcile Ben’s survival after sacrificing himself to save Rey at the end of Rise of Skywalker (despite the franchise’s long history of revivals and resurrections). As a result, the project that had already seen $3 million in investment was shelved.
Since Driver’s revelation, Star Wars fans have rallied under the hashtag #TheHuntForBenSolo, with some even flying banners over Disney Studios demanding the project’s revival, not unlike The Snyder Cut, Coyote vs. Acme, and other fan campaigns surrounding initially canceled projects.
Thankfully, We Still Have Marvel’s New Kylo Ren Series, Legacy of Vader
Is there a chance The Hunt for Ben Solo might one day get made? We certainly hope so. In the meantime, it is pretty cool that Marvel Comics is currently publishing the ongoing (and canonical) series Legacy of Vader.
Legacy of Vader follows Kylo Ren’s journey between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker, as the First Order’s new Supreme Leader visits iconic worlds like Mustafar, Tatooine, and Naboo in his attempts to learn more about his grandfather.
Furthermore, this new series from Charles Soule, Luke Ross, and Stefano Raffaele has included major new reveals about the Knights of Ren (and their new leader, Tava Ren) and Ben Solo’s connection to Rey as a Force dyad. The series has also delved even deeper into Ben’s complicated dark side path ahead of his ultimate redemption in Rise of Skywalker.
As such, Legacy of Vader is definitely a must-read for Star Wars and Ben Solo fans, especially in the wake of Disney’s inexplicable decision to turn down the aforementioned Ben Solo spin-off movie.
- Died
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Star Wars: Episode IX- The Rise Of Skywalker
- Alliance
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Jedi, First Order
- Race
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Human
