Copyright Screen Rant
Ben Solo’s redemption in The Rise of Skywalker remains one of the best moments in the Star Wars sequels, though many feel his story ended much too soon. Fans have been holding onto hope that the son of Leia Organa and Han Solo might return, especially following the news that Disney canceled Adam Driver's The Hunt For Ben Solo. It's been reported that Adan's Driver's Hunt for Ben Solo was a full script developed over two years with Lucasfilm's support in collaboration with Steven Soderbergh and Scott Z. Burns. Meant to explore Ben Solo's redemption even further, Disney executives rejected the pitch as they were unable to reconcile how Ben Solo could be alive after dying in Episode IX. Keeping that in mind, here are several ways Star Wars could bring Ben Solo/Kylo Ren back to the franchise in spite of his Rise of Skywalker demise. 9 Ben Solo Can Return As A Force Ghost The most straightforward and canonically supported way for Ben Solo to return is as a Force Ghost. We’ve seen the likes of Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, Yoda, Anakin, Luke, and Leia retaining their consciousnesses after death, offering wisdom to those who are still living. Because Ben Solo's sacrifice saving Rey mirrors Anakin’s final redemption so much, it's certainly possible that his own spirit could similarly live on through the Force. Especially with a Rey Skywalker-led New Jedi Order movie in the works, it would be incredibly easy to see Ben Solo's Force ghost offering guidance as someone who's experienced both the light and the dark sides of the Force. 8 Cloning Ben Solo's Body While it might not be the most popular choice given how it was received with Palpatine's return in Rise of Skywalker, it has to be noted that cloning is at least a potential option when it comes to bringing Ben Solo back to the franchise. Seeing as how Ben Solo died on the same planet where the fallen Emperor was cloned and revived, it's not that big of a leap to suggest that his body could have been recovered with dark Sith science being used to bring him back to the land of the living. While it's probably not an option Lucasfilm would actually go with, a cloned Ben Solo could explore a fascinating question about what would happen to the newly redeemed character if Ben Solo was indeed cloned. Would the redemption be maintained, or would his darkness return? 7 Flashbacks To A Younger Ben Solo If Lucasfilm wants to continue Ben’s story without undoing his death like The Hunt for Ben Solo presumably would, flashbacks are an easy route. After all, shows like Andor and Obi-Wan Kenobi proved audiences will eagerly watch formative years between trilogies and movies, so why not Ben's formative years as his uncle's apprentice prior to his corruption? A movie (or even a full series) would certainly humanize Ben's path to becoming Kylo Ren, while showing what truly fractured both Luke's Jedi Academy and eventually the New Republic itself with the rise of the First Order. Even if it was embedded in some other future Star Wars project, a Ben Solo flashback would more than likely be most welcome by fans. 6 Ben Solo Gets Chosen By The Force Itself (An Agent of Balance) It's worth mentioning that The Force has its own will and design. Keeping that in mind, it would be fascinating to see Ben Solo's story continue because the Force isn't finished with him. Much like his grandfather before him, Ben Solo left behind a unique legacy, having been a powerful wielder of both the light and dark sides of the Force. Like Anakin Skywalker, one could argue that it could make Ben a natural champion chosen by the Force as an agent of true balance, requiring a revival back to the physical realm. 5 A Kylo Ren Prequel Movie Ben Solo’s transformation into Kylo Ren remains one of Star Wars’ most tragic stories that has barely been shown on screen. The comics have touched on it, like Charles Soule's The Rise of Kylo Ren, but a full film or Disney+ series could flesh out the full tragedy of Ben Solo in live action. Likewise, Soule's current Kylo Ren comic series, Legacy of Vader, has been a fascinating exploration into his year as the Supreme Leader between The Last Jedi and Rise of Skywalker (which would be ripe for a Kylo Ren-led movie). Regardless of when it would be set, a standalone Kylo Ren movie could serve as both a brilliant character study that would also be another way to get Adam Driver's Ben Solo back to the Star Wars franchise. 4 The World Between Worlds Making its debut in Star Wars Rebels (and later appearing in live-action in 2023's Ahsoka series), the Force nexus that is the mysterious World Between Worlds might be the most powerful (yet intentionally underused) storytelling tool the Star Wars franchise has ever created. It’s a dimension that connects all time and space through the Force, allowing users to alter fate itself. However, that has thus far only been done in a very singular instance, with Ezra Bridger pulling Ahsoka Tano from certain death in the recent past before sending her back. Lucasfilm's Dave Filoni has made it clear that the World Between Worlds is primarily meant to gain knowledge and insight from the Force, rather than rewriting history and the threads of time itself (though that's something a Sith Lord like Palpatine certainly would have attempted had been able to gain access to the nexus). That being said, one could argue there would never be a better use for the World Between Worlds than to facilitate the return of one of the most dynamic characters from Disney's Star Wars era. Interestingly enough, Kylo Ren's words were heard by Ezra when he was first exploring the World Between Worlds. As such, that could certainly be used as a key precedent if the nexus were indeed used to bring Ben Solo back. 3 Dark Force Magic Could Bring Ben Solo Back While cloning and science could be used, as was done for Palpatine via the Sith Eternal, Star Wars lore is full of darker, more mystical methods of resurrection as well. As a prime example, The Nightsisters of Dathomir mastered necromancy as was seen in The Clone Wars and Ahsoka, but also full resurrection as was recently revealed in 2025's Tales of the Underworld with the revival of Asajj Ventress. By that same token, ancient Force magicks and sorcery could indeed be used to bring Ben Solo back. New stakes could even be created if Ben were to be revived incomplete using Nightsister magicks, perhaps shifting between the light and the dark as he struggles to regain stability once returning to the physical realm. 2 Ben Solo and Rey's Unique Force Dyad Powers Perhaps the strongest path forward lies in Ben and Rey's bond as a Force Dyad. Rey and Ben shared a connection so powerful it defied death, time, and space. They could transfer objects, see each other across galaxies, and even heal each other's wounds, hence Ben's energy transfer that saved Rey's life at the apparent cost of his own. The Force Dyad connection remains largely unexplored post-Rise of Skywalker. If their souls are still linked, Rey Skywalker could easily be the key to Ben’s return. Maybe his consciousness remains within her via their rare bond "unseen in generations", waiting to reemerge when the time is right. 1 Ben Solo Never Died At All (He Teleported) One of the most popular fan theories suggests Ben never truly died on Exegol. After all, he simply vanished through the Force after transferring his energy to save Rey. While this was likely to mirror similar Jedi body disappearances after death, like Obi-Wan Kenobi in A New Hope or Yoda in Return of the Jedi, it's worth noting that teleportation played a key role in Rise of Skywalker due to Ben and Rey's unique bond as Force dyad. Not only could Kylo Ren and Rey interact and duel each other regardless of space, they ended up trading physical spaces during The Rise of Skywalker's second act. Later on following Ben Solo's redemption, Rey also sent him a lightsaber, allowing him to duel the Knights of Ren.
