Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige revealed on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast that Adam Driver has repeatedly turned down offers to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe over the years.
“It’s no secret we’d like to [work with Adam],” Feige replied. “But it’s a tradition to Zoom with him and then he passes. That’s a long-lived tradition. He couldn’t be more cordial. He is usually upfront about how he is feeling.”
Driver already has one Hollywood mega-franchise under his belt thanks to his role as Kylo Ren/Ben Solo in three “Star Wars” movies, so it’s understandable why he’d be super selective when it comes to adding the MCU to his filmography. Social media is currently rife with rumors about the Oscar nominee being courted to play Magneto in Marvel’s “X-Men” reboot. Studio boss Kevin Feige said on the podcast that no “X-Men” casting choices have been set at this time. He also did not reveal which roles Driver has passed on.
If Driver had his way, he would’ve continued in the “Star Wars” universe with “The Hunt for Ben Solo.” The actor notably revealed to the AP last fall that he worked with director Steven Soderbergh on developing a sequel movie centered on his fan favorite character, only for Disney executives to shoot the movie down.
“I always was interested in doing another ‘Star Wars,’” Driver said at the time. “I had been talking about doing another one since 2021. Kathleen [Kennedy] had reached out. I always said: ‘With a great director and a great story, I’d be there in a second.’ I loved that character and loved playing him.”
Driver continued, “We presented the script to Lucasfilm. They loved the idea. They totally understood our angle and why we were doing it. We took it to Bob Iger and Alan Bergman, and they said no. They didn’t see how Ben Solo was alive. And that was that.”
