Adam Driver Joins New Netflix Series Following ‘Star Wars’ Ben Solo Drama

Actor Adam Driver may not be headed to a galaxy far, far away as his “Star Wars” character Ben Solo, but he is going to Netflix! While promoting his latest movie, the “Marriage Story” actor let slip that he had actually been working on a film about his character Ben Solo, the son of Han Solo and Princess Leia Organa, who fell to the dark side. Although the character passed away in 2019’s “The Rise of Skywalker” and faded into the Force, the actor had a plan to bring him back. Despite getting approval from Kathleen Kennedy to create an entire script, Bob Iger reportedly shut down “The Hunt For Ben Solo” after he didn’t believe that audiences would buy into watching a character get resurrected (despite how many times it has happened in the past).

Although Driver seemingly indicated that the project was dead in the water, despite a complete script being made, plenty of fans had hope that the project would still get made following an aggressive fan campaign that involved flying a banner with the movie title over offices in Burbank, California, and creating a billboard in Times Square. Although fans seem desperate to give this movie the green light, it appears that Driver is not holding his breath and is moving on to other projects.

Just a week after it was announced that “The Hunt For Ben Solo” was not being made, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Driver had been tapped to star in a new Netflix series called “Rabbit, Rabbit.” Although it’s not clear what character he will be playing yet, the logline reads:

“When an escaped convict is cornered by law enforcement at a truck stop, he takes hostages in an effort to bargain for his freedom. But the standoff soon escalates into an unmanageable social experiment with his captives, as well as an emotional poker match with a veteran FBI crisis negotiator trained in ‘tactical empathy.’”

Driver will also be an executive producer on the series, which will be directed by Emmy winner Philip Barantini of “Adolescence” fame. The straight-to-series order comes from Peter Craig and independent studio MRC.

In addition to “Rabbit, Rabbit,” the “65” actor has also been attached to the art-world drama “The Dealer” at Apple TV, opposite “Scenes From A Marriage” actress Jessica Chastain. According to the logline, “An ambitious art gallerist navigates power, class, and seduction in the elite art world while dealing with her complex relationship with a brilliant but disturbing artist.”

If that wasn’t enough, Driver has also been attached to Ron Howard and Amazon MGM Studio’s military drama “Alone At Dawn” opposite Anne Hathaway, as per Deadline. The film is based on the book of the same name by Dan Schilling and Lori Chapman Longfritz and is inspired by a true story.

The novel tells the story of Air Force Combat Controller John Chapman’s fight to the death to save his fellow soldiers and the investigation to prove his valor that ultimately earned him a Medal of Honor. Howard picked Driver to portray the character because he is also a former Marine who has frequently expressed interest in starring in a military-style film.

In an article published on October 20, Driver was promoting his latest film, Jim Jarmusch’s “Father Mother Sister Brother,” when he told AP Newsthat he had actually been working on a “Star Wars” film set after 2019’s “The Rise of Skywalker” that ultimately did not end up entering production despite a full script being made.

“I always was interested in doing another ‘Star Wars,’” Driver told the publication. “I had been talking about doing another one since 2021.” The actor said that Kennedy had “reached out” and that he had 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 Steven Soderbergh spent two years crafting a film with a script that was written by Scott Z. Burns. Although Kennedy, Lucasfilm vice president Cary Beck, and Lucasfilm chief creative officer Dave Filoni apparently loved the script, Bob Iger did not.

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

The actor called it “one of the coolest (expletive) scripts I had ever been a part of” and revealed, “It was called ‘The Hunt for Ben Solo’ and it was really cool.” He went on to say, “But it is no more, so I can finally talk about it.”

Neither Disney nor Lucasfilm has publicly commented on the decision to cancel the movie. Although fans may be disappointed that Driver may not be returning to a galaxy far, far away, it appears that the actor isn’t stepping away from the screen any time soon.