Adam Driver said on The Rich Eisen Show that he will not play Kylo Ren again. He said Disney executives rejected a standalone film he developed with Steven Soderbergh. Driver also said he will play Otis Wardell in Michael Mann's Heat 2.
Adam Driver said on The Rich Eisen Show that his time playing Kylo Ren in the Star Wars franchise is finished. He said that if Disney revived The Hunt for Ben Solo, he would return. Driver added that someone resurrecting the project would be fine with him, but that the decision is not his, and he believes the opportunity has passed.
The Hunt for Ben Solo was a proposed standalone film centered on Driver's character that Disney rejected, with Steven Soderbergh set to direct. Driver and Soderbergh developed the Kylo Ren film, tentatively given that title, for two years before Disney declined it. Driver said Disney executives Bob Iger and Alan Bergman turned down the script he had pitched with Soderbergh. According to Driver, their reason was that they did not see how Ben Solo was alive. He also said Lucasfilm liked the idea and understood the angle he and Soderbergh were taking, and that Soderbergh was attached to direct.
Driver said he worked on the script for a few years with Scott Burns, Rebecca Blunt and Soderbergh. He said the group worked on it earnestly for two years. Driver described the fan response, which included billboards and planes flown over Disney, as pretty incredible.
Driver also said on the show that he will play Otis Wardell in Michael Mann's Heat 2. Wardell is the main antagonist of the film. Driver previously worked with Mann on the 2023 motor racing biopic Ferrari. He said a delay was already part of the plan and was not caused by Mann's recent shooting accident at a Los Angeles gun range. Driver said Mann is doing well, replied to his text right away and was back at work the next day.
