(Left) Ryan Gosling at the Oscar Nominee Luncheon held in the International Ballroom at the Beverly Hilton on Monday, February 12, 2024. The 96th Oscars will air on Sunday, March 10, 2024 live on ABC. Credit/Provider: Mike Baker / ©A.M.P.A.S. Copyright: ©A.M.P.A.S. (Right) Shawn Levy attends the UK Fan Event of Marvel Studios’ ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ at Eventim Apollo, London on July 11th, 2024. Photo by StillMoving.Net for The Walt Disney Company Limited.
Preview:
- Lucasfilm has officially announced director Shawn Levy’s ‘Star Wars’ movie.
- Ryan Gosling will star in the film, titled ‘Star Wars: Starfighter.’
- It’ll be out on May 28th, 2027.
And just like that, Shawn Levy’s ‘Star Wars’ movie has made the leap from the rumor space to confirmed at hyper speed.
Described “as a stand-alone adventure that takes place a few years after the events of ‘The Rise of Skywalker’.” Read the Plot
Following reports this past January of Ryan Gosling in talks to star in the film, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy and Chief Creative Officer Dave Filoni took the stage at Star Wars Celebration 2025 in Japan to announce that not only does the movie have a title –– ‘Star Wars: Starfighter’ –– but it’ll be out in a couple of years’ time.
It’s certainly a bold move for the company, which has not released a movie since December 2019’s ‘The Rise of Skywalker,’ and has ‘The Mandalorian & Grogu’ in theaters on May 22nd, 2026.
Here’s the tweet that Lucasfilm put out at the same time as Kennedy and Filoni were on stage:
Star Wars: Starfighter comes to theaters on May 28, 2027. #StarWarsCelebrationpic.twitter.com/dsbVb3VdBY
— Star Wars (@starwars) April 18, 2025
What’s the story of Shawn Levy’s ‘Star Wars: Starfighter’?
Director Shawn Levy from ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ at San Diego Comic-Con 2024. Photo: Marvel Studios.
With the official news out there, we now have a proper, if basic bit of detail for the movie. It’s described as “a standalone adventure taking place approximately five years after the events of 2019’s ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.’ It is an entirely new adventure featuring all-new characters set in a period of time that has not been explored on screen yet.”
We do know that Levy, despite being seemingly busy with 500 different projects at once has been developing his untitled ‘Star Wars’ movie since at least 2022.
Jonathan Tropper, who collaborated with Levy on films such as ‘This is Where I Leave You’ and ‘The Adam Project,’ has been working on a script for over a year. Levy is also producing the feature via his 21 Laps banner, joining ‘Star Wars’ steward Kennedy.
Gosling’s deal has closed and production on the new movie will kick off in the fall, which means Levy will likely press pause on working on the planned boyband comedy that his usual Ryan –– that would be Reynolds –– has been developing. Still, given Levy’s work ethic, we wouldn’t be surprised if he knocked that out this summer before diving into ‘Star Wars.’
Related Article: ‘Barbie’s Ryan Gosling in Negotiations to Star in ‘Deadpool’ Director Shawn Levy’s ‘Star Wars’ Movie
What else does Ryan Gosling have going on?
Oscar® nominee Ryan Gosling arrives on the red carpet of the 96th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 10, 2024. Credit/Provider: Kyusung Gong / ©A.M.P.A.S. Copyright: ©A.M.P.A.S.
Gosling, who was one of the key elements in 2023’s monster hit ‘Barbie’ had a slightly less successful 2023, as romantic action comedy ‘The Fall Guy’ –– which was perfectly entertaining in our opinion –– failed to land at the box office and only earned $181 million from a $125 budget.
He’ll be back on our screens next year in another space-based project, as he’s in the lead in ‘Project Hail Mary,’ the latest film adapted from the work of ‘The Martian’s Andy Weir, with Phil Lord and Chris Miller directing from a script by ‘Martian’ man Drew Goddard.
That one errs more towards the sci-fi than space opera, featuring an astronaut who has to try and save the planet. It’ll arrive on May 20th, 2026, and a first look was teased by Amazon MGM Studios at the company’s CinemaCon presentation this month.
Behind the camera, Gosling is an executive producer on a Donald E. Westlake adaptation called ‘The Actor,’ though that movie has yet to land a release date.
And oddly, Gosling’s name has been linked with ‘Star Wars’ in the past, when rumors spread online in 2013 that he and Zac Efron were being eyed by ‘The Force Awakens’ filmmaker J.J. Abrams for a part that may have eventually become Kylo Ren (as played in the sequel trilogy by Adam Driver).
Who else has been rumored for ‘Star Wars: Starfighter’?
Mikey Madison accepts the Oscar® for Actress in a Leading Role during the live ABC Telecast of the 97th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 2, 2025. Credit/Provider: Trae Patton / The Academy. Copyright: ©A.M.P.A.S.
From the sounds of recent reports, Disney and Lucasfilm nearly had something else to announce about the movie.
Reporter Jeff Sneider broke word that ‘Anora’ Academy Award winner Mikey Madison was in talks for a role in the movie a day or so ago.
But the same day, Variety reported that Madison had decided to pass on the role. While it seems as though she’s passing up a big opportunity, it’s not like the actor is exactly short of offers at the moment –– she is very much in demand, including by Zach Cregger’s ‘Resident Evil’ reboot.
What else is in development for big screen ‘Star Wars’?
‘The Mandalorian & Grogu’ Concept Art courtesy of Lucasfilm Ltd. ©2024 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
Jon Favreau’s ‘The Mandalorian & Grogu’ is first among ‘Star Wars’ equals right now, having shot last year and now speeding through post-production.
The Mandalorian and Grogu are embarking on a new adventure — to movie theaters. Plot TBA. Read the Plot
Favreau and Filoni introduced a new clip from the movie and a sizzle reel at the Celebration event.
The main scene was action packed, with Snowtroopers inside an AT-AT preparing to engage in battle. Pedro Pascal’s Mandalorian cuts open into the hull of the AT-AT, then, in one continuous take, blasts, stabs, pyros, and fights his way through the Snowtroopers, making his way through the hull and then hallway, ending at the door of the cockpit, which quickly closes.
The sizzle reel, meanwhile, offered a glimpse at Sigourney Weaver’s character –– for whom Mando apparently works –– plus battle scenes (including an AT-AT tumbling off a snowy cliff), Grogu using his powers and swimming. It ended with Jeremy Allen White-voiced Rotta the Hutt, the son of the crime lord Jabba the Hutt, raising his hands in triumph in some sort of fighting arena, and then cut to Grogu in the stands and eating what passes for the Star Wars version of popcorn.
(L to R) Director James Mangold, Dave Filoni, and director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy at Star Wars Celebration 2023.
‘Mandalorian’ co-creator and fellow steward Filoni is still putting the pieces together for his own film, while one that continues the story of Rey (Daisy Ridley) is in development from director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy but appears to keep hitting stumbling blocks and has been removed from the schedule for now.
And then there’s James Mangold’s film, which explores the origins of the Jedi and early force users and is awaiting a release date.
We’d guess that while Filoni (who promoted earlier this year to Chief Creative Officer at Lucasfilm) is still going full speed ahead on his movie, he’s also been busy figuring out a second season of ‘Ahsoka.’
Here’s what he said about that:
“I’m so well into that as well… I’ve been writing it, and I’m still the single writer on it, and so I’ve been enjoying doing that, but it’s a challenge, of course, and working some of these arcs through has been a challenge and making sure it’s all going to come out in a way that I think is exciting for fans. I know that they’re interested in where some of the things I developed in Season One. I’m pretty happy with it… Love working with Rosario [Dawson], so I can’t wait to get back to that.”
Beyond those, there are several movies (and potential trilogies) which don’t seem to be moving forward and may have been scrapped altogether, including new potential movies from ‘The Last Jedi’s Rian Johnson (who is busy with his ‘Knives Out’ movies and may not wish to dip back into the toxic stew of ‘Star Wars’ fandom after the divisive reaction to his first effort) and ‘Wonder Woman’s Patty Jenkins, who had a much-touted ‘Rogue Squadron’ story of rebel pilots that appears to have had trouble leaving the development hanger.
When will ‘Star Wars: Starfighter’ be in theaters?
With ‘The Mandalorian & Grogu’ boasting a confirmed release date of May 22nd, 2026, we now have a second ‘Star Wars’ movie on the calendar.
‘Star Wars: Starfighter’ is now due to arrive on May 28th, 2027. Looks like Lucasfilm is finally ready to ramp back up to one movie a year from the galaxy far, far away.
‘The Mandalorian’ season 3 starring Pedro Pascal premieres March 1st on Disney+. Photo: Lucasfilm.
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