Prolific director Steven Soderbergh has no beef with Adam Driver. The Oscar-winning director, who found success with the Ocean’s trilogy, was working on a movie featuring Ben Solo, a character who played a prominent role in the “Star Wars” sequel trilogy. Although the character supposedly died at the end of 2019’s “The Rise of Skywalker,” the actor had an idea to bring the character back. After initially getting approval from Lucasfilm, the idea was scrapped by Disney heads, and the project is, according to Soderbergh, officially dead.
Steven Soderbergh Clears The Air
While promoting his new movie, “The Christophers,” Variety couldn’t pass up a chance to ask him about his canceled “Star Wars” film. When they asked him what he learned from trying to get the movie made, he replied, “That there’s no such thing as wasted time.”
“It was great to work on that with Adam Driver and [writers] Rebecca Blunt and Scott Burns,” he continued. “Sometimes that’s just the way things go. I know what we came up with was good. I think it would have excited audiences. Working with smart people, trying to solve sh-t, is how you get better.”
Steven Soderbergh Claims Adam Driver ‘Felt Bad’
In the interview, Soderbergh revealed that Driver “felt bad” about involving him, only to see the project end up on the cutting-room floor.
“Adam felt bad for having gotten me into it. I think he felt like he wasted my time, and I made it clear to him, ‘Dude, that was not wasted time.’ It’s a problem-solving experience that will get applied to everything I do going forward,” Soderbergh said.
“I’m not upset. I feel positive about everything that we did together,” he added.
‘If It Was Gonna Happen, It Would Have Happened’
In a separate interview with The Playlist, Soderbergh confirmed that the movie was dead, saying, “Look, if it was gonna happen, it would have happened.” He also reiterated that he didn’t feel that the project wasted his time.
“I don’t regret one minute of the time we spent working on that,” he explained. “I felt the work was good. It’s just good for you to be in that room and working on it. It’s like CrossFit – it’s good for you. It’ll have a residual effect that will be unexpected at some point.”
“As soon as it became apparent, OK, not gonna happen, I sat down and started writing [something else],” Soderbergh said. “It’s like, ‘OK, new scenario, let’s get cracking.’ At a certain point, it’s like complaining about the weather. You just gotta keep moving.”
Soderbergh Says The Story Idea Was Adam Driver’s Idea
Although it isn’t clear exactly what the movie would have been about, Soderbergh revealed that the idea for the movie actually came from the actor.
“It was strictly Adam saying, ‘I think there’s still somewhere to go with this character.’ That’s how it started,” Soderbergh revealed. “Otherwise, I never in a million years would have found myself in that universe again.”
But when asked if he would ever return to the project again, Soderbergh gave a very simple: “Nope.”
Steven Soderbergh Is ‘Frustrated’ Over The Film’s Cancellation
This isn’t the first time that Soderbergh has addressed the film’s cancellation. In a February 2026 interview with BK Mag, the director said they were “all frustrated” that the film was scrapped before they could even discuss a budget.
“You know, that was two and a half years of free work for me and Adam and [writer] Rebecca Blunt,” he explained. “When Adam and I discussed him talking about it publicly, I said, ‘Look, do not editorialize or speculate about the why. Just say what happened, because all we know is what happened.’ The stated reason was, ‘We don’t think Ben Solo could be alive.’ And that was all we were told. And so there’s nothing to do about it, you know, except move on.”
“I’d kind of made the movie in my head, and just felt bad that nobody else was going to get to see it,” he continued. “I thought the conversation was strictly going to be a practical one—where they go, what is this going to cost? And I had a really good answer for that. But it never even got to that point. It’s insane. We’re all very disappointed.”