Some new behind-the-scenes claims about The Hunt for Ben Solo are circulating—and they make the galaxy far, far away sound more like an episode of Succession than Star Wars.
According to The Playlist, Steven Soderbergh’s long-rumored Star Wars film starring Adam Driver, The Hunt for Ben Solo, wasn’t canceled for creative reasons at all, but for internal political ones. The report alleges that the decision to kill the project coincided with Disney’s internal CEO succession battle—and that fallout from the film’s demise may have actually damaged Alan Bergman’s standing as Bob Iger’s potential heir apparent.
If it sounds far fetched, that’s because it probably is…
A Star Wars Project That Nearly Happened
Earlier this month, Adam Driver confirmed that he and Soderbergh had been deep into development on a Star Wars sequel titled The Hunt for Ben Solo, set after The Rise of Skywalker. The film reportedly had a completed screenplay by Scott Z. Burns and internal green-lighting from Lucasfilm, with both Kathleen Kennedy and Dave Filoni supporting it.
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 07: Kathleen Kennedy attends the studio panel at Star Wars Celebration 2023 attends the studio panel at Star Wars Celebration 2023 in London at ExCel on April 07, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Disney)
The project aimed to explore Ben Solo’s fate after the events of Rise of Skywalker—a creative gamble that could have reignited the sequel-era timeline and possibly even reshaped Lucasfilm’s approach to legacy characters.
Then, out of nowhere, Disney corporate reportedly pulled the plug.
The official explanation, according to multiple outlets, was simple: Bob Iger and Alan Bergman “didn’t see how Ben could have survived” the end of The Rise of Skywalker. That reasoning already raised eyebrows, considering that the Star Wars universe has resurrected everyone from Palpatine to Darth Maul with far less plausibility.
HULU ON DISNEY+ CELEBRATION – Some of the biggest stars across The Walt Disney Company celebrate the official launch of Hulu on Disney+ at an exclusive cocktail reception hosted by Dana Walden and Alan Bergman, along with special guest Bob Iger, on Friday evening in Los Angeles. (Disney/Greg Williams)
DANA WALDEN (CO-CHAIRMAN, DISNEY ENTERTAINMENT, THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY), ROBERT A. IGER (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY), ALAN BERGMAN (CO-CHAIRMAN, DISNEY ENTERTAINMENT, THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY)
But The Playlist’s reporting takes the story to a much deeper, murkier, and far less believable level.
The Playlist’s Hunt for Ben Solo Bombshell: Politics Over Plot
Citing anonymous sources “close to the production,” The Playlist claims Lucasfilm executives were blindsided by Disney’s abrupt rejection of the film. They reportedly found the story’s logic “clear and creatively sound” and were confident the film could move forward.
“Several people close to the production interpret the decision as politically motivated,” the outlet writes, “coinciding with Iger’s efforts to position Bergman as his successor at Disney.”
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MAY 21: (L-R) Bob Iger, CEO, The Walt Disney Company, Frank Marshall and Alan Bergman, Co-Chairman, Disney Entertainment attend the world premiere of Disney+ documentary “The Beach Boys” at the TLC Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California on May 21, 2024. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)
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If that sounds strange, it’s because it is strange. Alan Bergman has never been a serious contender for the top job at Disney. While he’s respected internally for his financial acumen and long tenure within the company, Bergman’s career has always been that of a steady operations man—a behind-the-scenes executive focused on balance sheets, not boardroom politics. He was never positioned publicly or privately as Iger’s heir.
The real competition to replace Bob Iger has always centered on two figures: Parks chairman Josh D’Amaro and Disney Entertainment co-chair Dana Walden. D’Amaro, the face of Disney Parks & Resorts, has been a visible leader throughout Iger’s second tenure—touting guest-experience initiatives, defending price increases, and spearheading massive expansion plans. He represents the “operations-first” side of Disney’s future.
Dana Walden via Variety YouTube
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Walden, meanwhile, long held the advantage as Iger’s personal favorite and the frontrunner for the CEO role. Her extensive experience in television and streaming—along with her deep ties to Hollywood talent—made her an attractive candidate for the entertainment-driven vision Iger prefers. However, Walden’s political connections became a double-edged sword following the 2024 election. As a well-known ally and friend of then-Vice President Kamala Harris, her perceived alignment with the previous administration reportedly made her a more complicated choice after President Trump’s return to the White House.
Even so, Walden remains far more likely to succeed Iger than Bergman ever was. Bergman’s name rarely, if ever, appears in credible succession shortlists from major outlets like Bloomberg, Variety, or The Wall Street Journal. To claim that The Hunt for Ben Solo was canceled as part of a grand political maneuver to protect Bergman’s standing is—at best—a stretch.
Bob Iger via CNBC Television YouTube
The Playlist’s theory tries to connect dots that don’t line up. Bergman may have been involved in discussions about the film, but he’s hardly the figure whose career trajectory would hinge on a single Star Wars decision. If anything, this narrative says more about Hollywood’s fascination with intrigue than about what’s actually happening inside Disney’s succession race.
Follow the Money
The Playlist adds another fascinating potential wrinkle: writer Scott Z. Burns was allegedly paid more than any screenwriter in Lucasfilm history to finish the script—reportedly a “low but substantial seven-figure sum.”
Adam Driver as Kylo Ren in The Force Awakens (2015), Lucasfilm
In contrast, both Steven Soderbergh and Adam Driver were never compensated for their time developing the project. That alone would be odd for a Lucasfilm production, which typically offers up-front compensation even for canceled projects.
If true, it paints a picture of a studio that poured significant resources into a film it later abandoned, and it raises obvious questions about how the plug was pulled and why.
The Skeptic’s View
It’s fair to say this entire story sounds—well, unbelievable. A Star Wars film written by Oscar-nominated talent, greenlit internally, and then allegedly canceled to protect someone’s corporate positioning? That’s not the usual Hollywood playbook.
In reality, the claim doesn’t hold up under scrutiny. There’s little evidence to suggest that Alan Bergman’s internal reputation—or any supposed jockeying for Iger’s job—had anything to do with this decision. Bergman’s role within Disney has long been administrative and financial, not creative or political. He’s the kind of executive who keeps the trains running on time, not someone maneuvering behind the scenes for power. Even during Iger’s extended tenure and succession shakeups, Bergman’s name barely registered in serious conversations about who would take the reins.
HULU ON DISNEY+ CELEBRATION – Some of the biggest stars across The Walt Disney Company celebrate the official launch of Hulu on Disney+ at an exclusive cocktail reception hosted by Dana Walden and Alan Bergman, along with special guest Bob Iger, on Friday evening in Los Angeles. (Disney/Frank Micelotta)
KATHLEEN KENNEDY (PRESIDENT, LUCASFILM), ASAD AYAZ (PRESIDENT, MARKETING, THE WALT DISNEY STUDIOS AND DISNEY+ & CHIEF BRAND OFFICER, THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY), FRANK MARSHALL
If Disney executives truly were operating with political motives, the far likelier figures in play would have been Dana Walden and Josh D’Amaro. Both have been positioned for years as possible successors, representing two sides of Disney’s empire: Walden leading the entertainment wing, and D’Amaro overseeing the parks and experiences division.
It’s hard to imagine Bob Iger canceling a Star Wars film for the sake of someone else’s image. His decisions, historically, have been pragmatic to a fault—less about bold creative risk, and more about ensuring nothing jeopardizes Disney’s corporate stability or his own legacy.
Bob Iger | 2019 Disney Legends Awards Ceremony | D23 EXPO 2019. Photo Credit: nagi usano from Tokyo, Japan, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
The more likely explanation is the simplest one: Disney didn’t see a way to make the story work in a profitable way. The company is notoriously risk-averse with the Star Wars brand after The Rise of Skywalker lost money with a $600 million budget and The Acolyte cratered in viewership with a $300 million budget.
If it’s true that this project spend seven figures on a first draft for a screenplay, it’s logical to assume it would have been another big budget Star Wars project set in an era and around characters that the larger fandom had mostly turned away from.
Where Things Stand Now
Fans have begun campaigning for Disney to resurrect the project under the hashtag #SaveTheHuntForBenSolo, arguing that the concept deserves another chance. But so far, there’s no indication that Lucasfilm plans to revisit it.
Meanwhile, the internal power struggle at Disney continues. With Iger expected to step down again within the next two years, attention has shifted toward executives like D’Amaro and Walden.
Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro via Disney Parks YouTube
If Bergman’s influence really has waned, The Hunt for Ben Solo may be remembered not only as the Star Wars film that never was—but as a turning point in Disney’s corporate history.
It would be an almost Shakespearean twist if true: a movie about redemption and legacy derailed by the politics of power and succession.
Whether The Playlist’s account proves true or not, one fact is undeniable—Disney’s internal decision-making continues to cast a long shadow over its most important franchises.
Do you think The Hunt for Ben Solo was cancelled for political reasons? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
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No talk of disney star wars matters at this point. It’s “the Untouchables” in the Indian caste system. No matter what they make, by whomever makes it is untouchable as far as me wallet be concerned.
But please, keep pumping it out. Can’t wait until the failure of the upcoming baby yoda movie.
Once kathleen kennedy rubbed her dick all over the mandalorion, it ceased to be.
It was just exposed that Bob Iger hated Lucas’s vision of Star Wars and destroyed anything that would reinforce it over his sequel trilogy crap with Rey and the girlboss era. So its very plausible it was destroyed over political leanings.
I mean look at Star Wars, they admitted they lost the male audience and their response is to bring Rey back which is what fans rejected.
I can’t wait to care less about this non-story. And I already am nearing negative interest in the topic.
A movie script got bought by a Hollywood studio and ultimately didn’t make it into production… like millions of other scripts that get purchased and go nowhere in Hollywood every year.
BFD.
There is no hope for Disney. None.
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