'I'm Actually Spiralling': Star Wars Fans Are Convinced The Hunt for Ben Solo is Back on After Adam Driver's X-Men Announcement Video

Star Wars fans are convinced Adam Driver's X-Men announcement video suggests his scrapped Hunt for Ben Solo movie is now back in development.

Over the weekend, Disney confirmed the cast for Marvel's upcoming X-Men reboot, which will include Driver as Mr. Sinister. The Star Wars actor appeared in a video message shot at Pinewood Studios, home to many recent movies set in a galaxy far, far away.

But, asked about the Hunt for Ben Solo on the D23 red carpet, Lucasfilm co-president Dave Filoni seemed to suggest that the project remained in the garbage disposal. So, what's going on? And why are fans now insistent that Ben Solo really is back on the cards?

I’m actually spiraling a little bit why the fuck is he at pinewood. If I don’t get an actual explanation I’m just gonna have to assume it’s for the exact reason I want him to be there https://t.co/rdKlXg4tay

— abby (@llostandromeda) August 15, 2026

Disney WANTED people to clock that Adam's video was shot at Pinewood Studios. He had no reason to be there for an mcu movie that doesn't start shooting before next yr. He's there for something else. And we know what that something else is. That was a very well planted Easter Egg.

— mari ☁️ (@m_stormwitch) August 15, 2026

Holy cow. They are doing it. Look how coy he's being, and then he does the JEDI MIND TRICK gesture while saying they're "not making it RIGHT NOW."

I GUARANTEE Feigi helped sway Disney to let Adam make #TheHuntForBenSolo or something equivalent to it. Had to be part of the deal,… https://t.co/68QFwwqdIF

— Jon Handy Dandy 🎥 (@JonHandyDandy) August 15, 2026

For many fans, Driver's casting in X-Men did not come as a total surprise. As the actor himself acknowledged, Marvel has been keen to add his name to the MCU cast list for some time (persistent speculation previously pegged him as in the running for Reed Richards). Throughout it all, though, has been the spectre of The Hunt for Ben Solo, a project that Driver and director Steven Soderbergh pursued for several years, before former Disney boss Bob Iger ultimately snuffed it out.

With no evidence, some fans have now suggested that the fact Driver is even planning to work with Marvel indicates some wider deal has been put in place to revive his Star Wars project. To be clear, there is no evidence that this the case, and this thought process seems to be based on hope rather than anything more concrete. (For his part, Soderbergh has stated he's moved on.)

Would Disney reviving The Hunt for Ben Solo (especially under its new CEO, Josh D'Amaro) potentially sweeten the deal for Driver to finally appear in a Marvel movie? Maybe. But actors also take roles for all sorts of reasons, and Driver has never expressed any suggestion he was unwilling to work with Disney again after the Ben Solo project fell through.

What about Driver's announcement video itself then, shot at Pinewood Studios? It's true that the location has been used by Disney for numerous recent Star Wars movies, including the company's full sequel trilogy, plus Rogue One and Solo. But it's also been used for a raft of Marvel projects, such as The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday. While some see Driver calling out Pinewood — a place he knows very well — as a Star Wars hint, in reality it seems less than specific.

Details

Still, some fans are keeping the hope alive. Dave Filoni's comment that "We're not making that picture right now, that's all we can say," has been dissected over and over. Some have pointed to Filoni's caveat that they're not making it "right now" being as much of a dismissal as the director of Toy Story 5 saying he just watched a cut of the movie that did not have a Taylor Swift song over the credits. Others, meanwhile, point to Filoni's Jedi mind trick gesture as yet another hint there's more going on than meets the eye.

And then further down the rabbit hole still, there are images circulating on social media of Driver dining with someone at a restaurant in the U.K. this past weekend who looked like Soderbergh. But again, these are wholly unconfirmed — and even if it was Soderbergh, the two could simply have been catching up or discussing other things.

Fans first heard about The Hunt for Ben Solo when Driver spilled the beans last October. After word of the canned project was made public, Soderbergh commented that he'd "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.

Could The Hunt for Ben Solo still happen? Sure. But should you take Adam Driver's casting in the X-Men as ultimate prooft? Probably not. In the meantime, in case you missed it, catch up with everything announced at Disney's D23 Entertainment Showcase right here.

Image credit: Valery Hache / AFP via Getty Images

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social