Daisy Ridley Teases a Worth-the-Wait Rey Movie

So, quick catch-up on the galaxy far, far away: Adam Driver said two months ago that he was lined up to return as Ben Solo in a movie called 'The Hunt for Ben Solo.' Lucasfilm had reportedly handed Disney a finished script, a budget, and even a proposed start date. And then Disney killed it. Fans did not take that quietly.

Daisy Ridley is into it

Daisy Ridley told IGN she had heard whispers about the Ben Solo movie through friends on the crew side, but she was still surprised when the story hit the trades — especially because Driver himself was the one who said it out loud. What really got her, though, was seeing the fan push to revive the project. She called the response genuinely heartening and loved that people rallied around something positive for once.

'I do love when there is a collective of positivity... I just love that the Star Wars fandom is such a huge and gorgeous array of different points of view and different people, and the fact that everyone is really behind this thing, I think, is just sort of lovely, in a time that is so f***ing nuts for probably every single person on this Earth.'

In plain terms: the campaign to save 'The Hunt for Ben Solo' kicked off almost immediately after the cancellation news, and Ridley is publicly on board. If Disney needed proof there is still appetite for more Kylo/Ben storytelling, it got it.

What actually happened with 'The Hunt for Ben Solo'

This is the part that makes studio decisions feel like a black box. According to Driver and the reporting that followed, Lucasfilm showed Disney a fully baked package — script done, budget set, start date on the calendar — and Disney still pulled the plug. No reasons given. The fan movement that formed after points to one obvious takeaway: interest in Ben Solo has not faded.

Meanwhile, the Rey movie is still alive (even if it keeps swapping writers)

Ridley also gave a little temperature check on her own Star Wars return. That movie, directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy ('Ms. Marvel'), is still in the works. It was originally positioned as one of the first new films out of the gate post-Skywalker Saga, then hit a bunch of speed bumps. Ridley knows it has been a wait, but her basic message is: this is what development looks like, and it will be worth it.

• First announced over two years ago at Star Wars Celebration
• Initial script by Damon Lindelof ('Lost') and Justin Britt-Gibson ('The Strain')
• Lindelof later said they were asked to leave; both exited
• Steven Knight ('Peaky Blinders') came in to write next
• Knight then departed; George Nolfi ('The Bourne Ultimatum') took over

The story is set around 15 years after 'The Rise of Skywalker' and follows Rey trying to rebuild the Jedi Order while training a new batch of would-be Jedi. Ridley says she has learned how massive the hurdles are in getting any film made, but with the talent attached, she believes the wait will pay off.

Where this leaves us

On one side: a scrapped Ben Solo film with a ready-to-go package and a vocal fanbase trying to drag it back to life. On the other: Rey Skywalker gearing up for a mentor phase, after a development journey that reads like a relay race. If the studio asked you to pick just one right now, which would you rather see first: 'The Hunt for Ben Solo' or Rey rebuilding the Jedi from scratch?