Adam Driver Says ‘Criminal’ Star Wars Cancellation Spurred New Company

Driver developed the Star Wars film with director Steven Soderbergh, and said the pair spent two years working on it before Disney scrapped the project. “For me it was: Steven Soderbergh wants to make a ‘Star Wars’ film,” Driver told AP’s Jake Coyle. “What are we debating?” He added: “It’s what it is. It’s criminal. Or it felt criminal. We’re all moving on.”

The cancellation was announced in October 2025. Driver said he was surprised by the fan response, including rented Times Square billboards calling for Ben Solo’s return and a plane flown over Disney’s lot in Burbank, California. “It’s so moving,” he said, describing the response as feeling like people were together discussing the films they wanted to see.

Driver offered few details about the new company, but said he would work with filmmakers including Jeff Nichols, who directed him in Midnight Special. He likened an actor starting a production company to “an actor with a guitar at drama school” and wondered whether they would pursue ideas that others would reject.

He also pointed to the difficulty admired directors such as James Gray face in getting films financed. Hollywood is “so risk-averse,” Driver said, with decisions driven by metrics tied to recent hits. He described Paper Tiger, his new crime drama featuring Scarlett Johansson and Miles Teller, as a $15 million production backed by 24 credited executive producers that still struggled to find a buyer. The film is scheduled for a limited theatrical release on November 13, followed by wider distribution on November 20.