Sorry Adam Driver, But ‘Star Wars’ Is Better Off Without Resurrecting Ben Solo

To kick this off, I’ll admit that I’m a big fan of Adam Driver. I agree that Kylo Ren was underutilized in the “Star Wars” sequel trilogy, and the redeemed Ben Solo even more so. Although the “Legacy of Vader” comics and novelizations have been working to flesh out the only son of Leia Organa and Han Solo, it doesn’t erase the fact that Disney has effectively killed off the Skywalker bloodline after Ben uses his life force to resurrect Rey (Daisy Ridley). Perhaps they took the “let the past die, kill it if you have to” line a bit too far in order to move on from the Skywalker Saga, but resurrecting Ben Solo after his body vanished and became one with the Force would be a mistake. That’s not to say that Ben Solo can’t appear in other ways, but bringing Ben back to life might do more harm to the franchise than the decision to create a trilogy with no solid plan in the first place.

“The Rise of Skywalker” came out in 2019, so it doesn’t seem like too much of a spoiler to say that Ben Solo dies after fighting Emperor Palpatine. The movie disappointed so many that there hasn’t been a “Star Wars” movie in theaters since, and controversial Disney+ series like “The Acolyte” have only prompted fans to insist that Disney has no idea what to do with the franchise they bought from George Lucas back in 2012.

Earlier this week, the “Marriage Story” actor set the Internet on fire when he told theAssociated Pressthat he “always was interested in doing another” film in a galaxy far, far away. “I had been talking about doing another one since 2021,” he revealed. “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.”

He and director Steven Soderbergh then spent two years working on a movie that would have brought Ben Solo back to life. Soderbergh and Rebecca Blunt worked with writer Scott Z. Burns to create a script after they got the approval from Kennedy, Lucasfilm vice president Cary Beck, and Lucasfilm chief creative officer Dave Filoni. Driver called it “one of the coolest (expletive) scripts I had ever been a part of.”

“We presented the script to Lucasfilm. They loved the idea. They totally understood our angle and why we were doing it,” Driver said. “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.”

He continued, “It was called ‘The Hunt for Ben Solo’ and it was really cool,” adding, “But it is no more, so I can finally talk about it.” Soderbergh gave the publication his own statement, adding, “I really enjoyed making the movie in my head. I’m just sorry the fans won’t get to see it.”

Although Driver indicated that the project was dead in the water, fans immediately started creating petitions left and right, demanding that a Ben Solo be made. Although Lucasfilm has already greenlit a movie for Rey, it appears that fans are more interested in seeing Driver back on screen.

Many have already pointed out that there are many, many ways to bring someone back to life in the “Star Wars” universe, as it has already been done with Darth Maul, Asajj Ventress, and Emperor Palpatine (although the “somehow Palpatine returned” line has been mocked for so long, it makes sense that Iger might get cold feet about resurrecting yet another character).

Here’s the thing, though. Ben Solo died and faded into the living Force. While Disney could probably use some Force dyad handwaving to explain how he returns, what would be the point? Many fans have expressed hope that Ben Solo would be wandering through the galaxy, correcting injustice where he saw it, as an attempt to make reparations.

But there’s a problem with that. If the New Republic got wind that Ben Solo was alive, wouldn’t they want to capture him? Maybe that’s where the “hunt” part of the title came from, but it’s important to remember that Kylo Ren was complicit in the destruction of the Hosnian System. With Captain Phasma, General Hux, and Supreme Leader Snoke gone, there is no one else to take accountability for the billions of lives lost.

The comics go into more detail about the devastation that Kylo Ren caused on Naboo and Coruscant that don’t need to be shown in the movies (it’s a war, lots of civilians die, we get it), but the New Republic (if there is anything even left of it at this point) is going to want a very public trial to show that the threat of the First Order is really gone. With everyone else dead, Kylo Ren is the only person they have left.

At that point, after a public trial, there are only a few options: incarceration, execution, or rehabilitation. Given the amount of power that Ben Solo possesses and the nature of the crimes that he has committed, it is doubtful that anyone would be in favor of rehabilitation (besides the audience). Rey might advocate for him, but in the long run, no one really knows who she is, and her word might not count for much.

Instead, there is a way to bring Ben Solo back: as a Force ghost. He already died. There is no magic hand-waving required here. The audience already saw him fade into the living Force. He didn’t appear with Luke and Leia on Tatooine, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see him make an appearance when Rey decides to start up her own Jedi school, as many have expected.

If anything, a Ben Solo movie could bridge the gap between “Starfighter” and Rey’s Jedi movie, showing Ben Solo make a journey through the living Force in his quest to become a Force ghost. So far, it is unclear how exactly Jedi move on and become one with the Force. This movie could help bridge the gap, expand the lore of the Force, and continue to flesh out Ben Solo’s journey of redemption.

If Adam Driver wants to return to a galaxy far, far away, it’s clear that many fans will welcome him with open arms, but Disney needs to be careful with how they treat the character. If they resurrect Ben Solo for one movie, it means that he now exists in the timeline yet again, and it leaves the question of what will happen to the character from there.

Maybe it’s enough for some fans to say that he is just wandering around the galaxy, waiting to pop up again if there’s trouble like an Avenger, but there has to be some sort of endgame for the character. Will he settle down with Rey and start a family to keep the Skywalker bloodline going?

I can’t imagine that Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), who was tortured by Kylo Ren in “The Force Awakens,” or Finn (John Boyega), who probably saw Kylo Ren do a lot worse things than the movie showed as a Stormtrooper, would ever be okay with that.

AsThe Blast previously reported in May 2025, Boyega was asked by a fan if Finn would have accepted a relationship between Rey and Ben if he had lived. The “Attack the Block” actor immediately responded with a clear, “No.”

"I mean, look, ladies in the room — straight ladies in the room — when he is pursuing you, him trying to kill you is not a part of the romance, okay," Boyega explained. "Chasing him and saying, 'We can become something powerful!' I'm there like, 'I wouldn't tell my sisters to do that.'"

If Ben had survived the events of “The Rise of Skywalker,” Boyega said that Finn would have encouraged Rey to stay away from Ben, redeemed or not. In his words: "If I were Finn there, Finn should've had a line where he'd say, 'Girl, leave him be. Come home with me.'"

Although Adam Driver feels that Ben Solo’s story was left incomplete, there is another character who was gravely underutilized throughout the sequel trilogy. John Boyega’s Finn had a great run in “The Force Awakens,” but seemed to get less and less screen time with each movie. In “The Rise of Skywalker,” Finn kept running around with a secret that he wanted to tell Rey.

It became like a running joke at a certain point, but the joke didn’t land because, ultimately, Finn never actually even tells Rey his secret: that he’s Force sensitive. This loose thread is so big it seems almost like a rope. It explains how he was able to wield a lightsaber and hear the voices screaming out in terror on Hosnian Prime during the events of “The Force Awakens,” but it’s never clearly written into the movie. Instead, Disney decided to force fans to seek out supplemental material (like the novels and comics) to try to get an answer to Finn’s story.

Although Boyega has (rightfully) expressed his frustrations with the franchise, it does appear that he would be willing to come back to finish Finn’s story and join Rey at her new Jedi school. While it would be fantastic to see Boyega get his own “Star Wars” movie to explore his Force sensitivity and his past as a Stormtrooper, it seems doubtful at this point.

The best thing Disney can do right now is to reframe the entire narrative surrounding Rey’s movie, making it not about Rey but about continuing the story of all the underutilized characters from the sequel trilogy. There’s no reason that Finn can’t appear in the movie to explore his own Force sensitivity.

There’s no reason that Ben Solo can’t appear in the film as well. Perhaps his own journey to becoming a Force Ghost parallels Rey’s journey as she struggles to impart the teachings of the Jedi with what she has experienced herself. This could parallel Ben’s attempt at redemption, as dark side users do not become Force Ghosts. His journey to becoming a Force Ghost can show the journey of his redemption and his attempt to finally reclaim his identity as Ben Solo.

Of course, while some fans are hoping for closure with the sequel characters they have been given, others want to move on from the whole mess entirely. Many were frustrated that Mara Jade, Luke Skywalker’s wife in the expanded universe, never made an appearance in the sequel trilogy.

While it’s impossible to completely strike the sequel trilogy from canon, one can make the argument that Mara Jade did exist. Maybe they had a child together. Maybe she left Luke for reasons unexplained, and there’s another secret Skywalker Force user out there with a story waiting to be explored.

Or maybe I shouldn’t give Disney any more bad ideas.