Lucasfilm president Dave Filoni has confirmed that, despite the push from fans, Disney still isn’t working on its scrapped Star Wars movie The Hunt for Ben Solo.
Variety pressed The Clone Wars orchestrator about the shelved Steven Soderbergh project after last night’s Disney Entertainment Showcase at D23 2026. Considering fans have been pushing Disney and Lucasfilm to bring Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren back for The Hunt for Ben Solo for months, it shouldn’t be a surprise to hear Filoni has been expecting to be asked about the project for some time.
“You know, someone was going to ask me that in this line,” he said with a smile. “I’m surprised it took this long, so that’s really cool.”
Dave Filoni confirms that Lucasfilm is not making “The Hunt for Ben Solo” right now. #D23 pic.twitter.com/pH414RuZtc
— Variety (@Variety) August 15, 2026
Filoni, gesturing with a reference to the Jedi’s hand-waving mind tricks, then said, “We’re not making that picture right now. That’s all I can say.”
He had a similar response for Deadline: “It’s not here, you won’t find it here. The force is not with us in that regard; I love the love you feel for it.”
Fans perked up with the hope for more sequel trilogy Star Wars when Driver spilled the beans about a shelved project last October. He said the project was in development with the title The Hunt for Ben Solo and had been worked on by he and Soderbergh for two years before Disney pulled the plug. At the time, the Traffic director said, “I really enjoyed making the movie in my head. I’m just sorry the fans won’t get to see it.”
Even former Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said The Hunt for Ben Solo’s script was “great,” but that didn’t stop Disney from setting the film aside. Considering Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker left Kylo Ren’s story on a bit of a sour note, intensity from fans has really only ramped up the last few months. While some flew a “Save The Hunt for Ben Solo” banner over Walt Disney Studios, others waited for the premiere of this year’s The Mandalorian and Grogu to voice their dissatisfaction.
Although Soderbergh went on to call the move to scrap the movie “insane,” adding that Disney got “two and a half years of free work” from him, Driver, and screenwriter Rebecca Blunt, it doesn’t sound like he’s been hopeful that the project could rematerialize. When asked in April if there was a possibility of The Hunt for Ben Solo being revived, he said, “nope.”
“If it was gonna happen, it would have happened,” Soderbergh told The Playlist. “It’s that simple.”
With Filoni now in charge of Lucasfilm, it sounds like that possibility still isn’t high, at least not yet. His tongue-in-cheek answer does at least suggest the Star Wars minds at Disney are more than aware that it’s something fans want to see, though.
In the meantime, Star Wars is chugging ahead. Following The Mandalorian and Grogu’s premiere in May, the franchise is set to continue on Disney+ with Ahsoka Season 2 thanks to its newly revealed January 2027 release date. D23 also gave IGN a sneak peek at the first trailer for 2027’s Star Wars: Starfighter. You can catch up on all of the event’s biggest announcements right here.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
