After Production Suspension, Daisy Ridley Weighs in on Scrapped Post-Sequel ‘Star Wars’ Movie
The movie fans will never see.
Star Wars: Episode IX–The Rise of Skywalker (2019) crossed the impressive $1 billion milestone, but its legacy remains complicated. For a large segment of the audience, the finale landed with a thud—an ending to a sequel trilogy that never quite found a consistent rhythm. Even years later, Lucasfilm continues patching over story choices through retcons, tie-in materials, and extended lore meant to clarify J. J. Abrams’ highly debated endpoint.
But the problems were already taking shape long before Episode IX. Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: Episode VIII–The Last Jedi (2017) created a deep fracture in the fanbase, prompting loud calls for Disney and Lucasfilm to rethink the sequel strategy. Instead, the studio brought back Abrams, hoping the filmmaker who launched Star Wars: Episode VII–The Force Awakens (2015) could steer the trilogy to a satisfying conclusion.
The sequels debuted new trilogy leads—Daisy Ridley’s Rey, John Boyega’s Finn, Oscar Isaac’s Poe Dameron—and also transformed Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren into one of the franchise’s central points of speculation. His evolution—from the Knights of Ren conflict to the Force Dyad twist with Rey to his death as Ben Solo—left many fans feeling that his potential was cut short.
Lucasfilm has since revisited many of the trilogy’s unclear creative swings, including Emperor Palpatine’s unexpected return. Even a recent comic adaptation of The Rise of Skywalker reworked beats from the movie’s closing moments.
More backstory has surfaced in the form of supplemental tales, such as a Kylo Ren mission set between Episodes VIII and IX and Rey’s “Jaws of Jakku,” also situated in the post-Last Jedi stretch. But at one stage, Lucasfilm targeted an even more ambitious expansion: a feature film centered entirely on Ben Solo after Episode IX.
“I always was interested in doing another Star Wars,” Adam Driver told Associated Press. “I had been talking about doing another one since 2021. 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.”
Driver revealed that he shared the idea with filmmaker Steven Soderbergh.
“Soderbergh and Rebecca Blunt outlined a story that the group then pitched to Kennedy, Lucasfilm vice president Cary Beck, and Lucasfilm chief creative officer Dave Filoni,” the outlet wrote. “They were interested, so the filmmakers then pulled in Scott Z. Burns to write a script.”
Driver described the script as “one of the [coolest] scripts” he had encountered. But Disney opted not to move forward.
“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 ([Disney CEO]) and Alan Bergman ([co-Chairman of Disney Entertainment]), and they said no. They didn’t see how Ben Solo was alive. And that was that.”
The project—titled The Hunt for Ben Solo—would have returned to the sequel-era timeline, something Disney may have been apprehensive about revisiting so soon, given the polarized reception.
Now, after weeks of fan petitions demanding the film be revived, Daisy Ridley is weighing in, expressing genuine surprise at the groundswell of support.
“I knew a piece of it. I heard rumblings. I have lots of friends who are crew, so things always travel like that,” Ridley, who will next star in January’s We Bury the Dead (2026), told IGN. “But, whoa! When the story came out, no, I was like, ‘Oh, my God!’ And it was he who said it, right? It was funny because, like, ‘Oh, wow, Adam is saying it,’ and that’s the big surprise of the year.”
The Rey Skywalker star—who remains attached to lead her own post-sequel film unless Disney has shifted course following reported production suspension—commented on how rare this wave of positivity has been for anything tied to the sequel era.
“I do love when there is a collective of positivity. The way the internet seems to have rallied to try and get it to happen. I think it’s fantastic for us all. It’s good for us to all be united about something in a really positive way,” she said. “Obviously, everyone knows he was a very popular character, but it was also lovely to think, ‘Wow, people really, really care and want this.’ I just… I like it. I like when people join forces–excuse the pun–from all around the world, all different sorts of people.”
While a Kylo Ren-centric film seems unlikely for the moment, Star Wars will return to theaters through several new initiatives. Shawn Levy’s Star Wars: Starfighter (2027) will represent the franchise’s first post-Episode IX theatrical exploration in eight years. Until then, Lucasfilm’s attention remains on the New Republic era, culminating in next May’s The Mandalorian and Grogu (2026) from Jon Favreau.
Meanwhile, the long-announced sequel-era films remain in flux. Kathleen Kennedy unveiled three features in 2023, including one charting Rey Skywalker’s journey in the “New Jedi Order.” Yet industry reports suggest delays, with Starfighter now taking priority—an adjustment that raises questions about whether the Rey timeline will move forward as expected.
With a reduced TV slate, The Mandalorian seemingly wrapping next May, and Starfighter positioned as a standalone, Lucasfilm appears to be recalibrating yet again. Where the franchise heads next—and who follows—remains uncertain.
How do you feel about Disney canceling this Kylo Ren movie? Let us know in the comments down below!
