Rian Johnson, the director behind The Last Jedi and the acclaimed Knives Out series, recently weighed in on the highly anticipated, yet ultimately canceled, The Hunt for Ben Solo film. While promoting his latest mystery, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, Johnson spoke with Andy Cohen on Sirius XM, where the conversation inevitably turned to Star Wars. Johnson confirmed that his previously announced Star Wars trilogy with Lucasfilm is currently on the back burner as he focuses on the successful Knives Out franchise. Despite still being on good terms with the studio, he admitted to having "no idea what happened with any of that" regarding The Hunt for Ben Solo's approval and subsequent cancellation, though he expressed a strong desire to see Adam Driver, who portrayed Ben Solo/Kylo Ren in the sequel trilogy, in another Star Wars movie.

The Hunt for Ben Solo project was conceived by Adam Driver himself, along with prolific director Steven Soderbergh and screenwriter Jules Asner. The film was intended to explore the aftermath of Ben Solo's apparent death in The Rise of Skywalker. Lucasfilm had initially approved the concept and even commissioned a script from Scott Z. Burns. However, the project was ultimately canceled by Disney and remained a secret until Driver revealed its existence in a recent interview. This revelation ignited a fervent response from Star Wars fans, who have since mounted an intense campaign to demonstrate audience demand for the film.

Johnson's current focus, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, marks the third installment in his popular series of all-star mysteries. Daniel Craig returns as the astute detective Benoit Blanc, navigating a new ensemble of victims, suspects, and red herrings. The cast for this latest mystery is packed with talent, including Josh O'Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Jeremy Renner, Mila Kunis, Kerry Washington, and Andrew Scott. The film is set for a limited theatrical release on November 26, 2025, before making its debut on Netflix on December 12. With a runtime of 140 minutes, the PG-13 rated comedy-drama-mystery is directed and written by Rian Johnson, with production credits also going to Johnson alongside Ram Bergman.