By now you probably have heard that Disney executives Bob Iger and Alan Bergman shut down a new Star Wars movie, The Hunt for Ben Solo, that was moving toward development.
The movie was developed by Adam Driver with Steven Soderbergh as director, working in conjunction with the Lucasfilm brain trust of Kathleen Kennedy, Carrie Beck, and Dave Filoni. So let this sink in: this Star Wars movie had the support of:
- Academy Award winning actor Adam Driver, who was excited about returning to the franchise and reprising his role as Ben Solo, the last of the Skywalker blood, the son of Han Solo and Leia Organa. And no matter what people thought of the sequels, Driver’s performance was widely praised (somewhat akin to Ewan McGregor’s widespread acclaim in the prequel trilogy).
- Academy Award winning director Steven Soderbergh, who was enthusiastic about joining the franchise far, far away. It would have been a notable get, to have him attached to a Star Wars project.
- Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy, one of the most respected filmmakers in Hollywood whose producer credits include E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, the Indiana Jones franchise, and all of the modern Star Wars films (The Force Awakens, Rogue One, The Last Jedi, Solo, and The Rise of Skywalker).
- Lucasfilm Executive Vice President of Live-Action Development and Production Carrie Beck. She co-created Rebels and Resistance, was a major player on The Clone Wars season seven, and has been executive producer on Ahsoka, The Bad Batch, Tales of the Jedi, Skeleton Crew, and The Mandalorian. She is rumored to be a serious contender to take over leadership at Lucasfilm in the post-Kennedy era.
- Lucasfilm Executive Vice President and Chief Creative Officer Dave Filoni, who is George Lucas’s protege on the franchise and has helped to maintain Lucas’s heart and vision. The creator of The Clone Wars, Rebels, and more, Filoni has had a hand in a ton of Star Wars stuff in the modern era, also serving as one of the creatives behind The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and more. He is reported to be the other frontrunner to take over at Lucasfilm, perhaps even with a pairing of him and Beck leading in tandem.
So, in other words, it’s hard to imagine Lucasfilm bringing much more firepower to the table for their pitch to Disney. It was, in theory, the perfect pitch: the Lucasfilm brain trust, an established actor and Star Wars mainstay, and a well-respected director.
Yet Disney said no.
Soderbergh recently went on Bluesky to share that, after Disney turned it down, he asked Kennedy if that had happened before. She told him no, that this was the first time Disney had turned down a finished movie script from Lucasfilm. Remember, this was not just in the idea phase of the project, as if they were rolling around some random potential ideas. No, this was a finished script, backed by considerable players. And Bob Iger and Alen Bergman still said no.
That’s really bad news regarding the future of Star Wars, and not just because this movie didn’t get made. Yes, I will admit that I’d have loved to see this movie and would have been very excited about it, continuing the franchise in a meaningful way with some characters we’ve grown to know who have more stories to tell. But the issue with this is larger than this one movie being made: it’s Disney stepping in like they haven’t before to overrule even the most established of Lucasfilm executives to turn down a finished script. Some fans would love to (wrongly) point out that this shows their lack of trust in Kennedy, but if that were the case then it’s equally damning of Filoni and Beck – and those same fans love to praise Filoni’s every move. If he was a believer, and Disney still said no? Yikes.
It’s possible that it’s a budgetary decision, but there hasn’t been a Star Wars movie made in six years. They have the budget to make Star Wars movies. That wasn’t it. So whatever the real reason, it’s far more concerning than just a business decision. What it signifies is that Disney is becoming even more controlling of Star Wars storytelling in general. While they have people employed to care for these stories, Iger and Bergman didn’t see how Ben Solo could be alive and that was that. And what this suggests to me is that, really, what is driving this is a lack of creativity and/or a lack of risk-taking. Bringing Ben Solo back from the dead would certainly be a risk (one that, given the character’s fanbase already, would be somewhat mitigated I think). And that’s something that Star Wars has been more and more reticent to do as of late.
After a segment of the fanbase was vocally critical of The Last Jedi, Lucasfilm reversed course for a far less risky The Rise of Skywalker. After Solo disappointed at the box office, Lucasfilm concluded that the standalone format maybe wasn’t the best. The Acolyte, though far from perfect, was a bold and brave new series, and it was cancelled after one season. It is becoming more and more likely that a series like Andor will never be made again (at least for a long time), and it was a series that the showrunners have honestly admitted Kennedy had to really fight for.
Good storytelling involves taking some risks. It requires being willing to challenge the status quo, go in bold new directions, honor the legacy while moving forward. Doubling down into nostalgic sameness might keep fans for a little while, but it will struggle to develop new ones. Those stories need new characters and bold new stories. Maybe The Hunt for Ben Solo would have been the right risk, or maybe not. That’s besides the point, honestly.
What is far more significant is that Disney leadership is meddling with Star Wars like never before, and it’s not because they’re wanting to push the franchise forward. It’s because their lack of imagination, fueled by a fear of any sort of risk, aims to play it safe and just maintain the status quo. And considering George Lucas’s history and passion, that’s a far cry from the origins of Star Wars.
When Disney looks at what is standing in the way from a bright future for this long-beloved franchise, the answer must begin at the top, with Bob Iger and Alan Bergman.
Star Wars Thoughts 