Lucasfilm’s upcoming Star Wars: Starfighter is shaping up to be a major event for the galaxy far, far away. Alongside leading man Ryan Gosling, the cast now includes Flynn Gray, Matt Smith, Mia Goth, Aaron Pierre, Simon Bird, Jamael Westman, Daniel Ings, and Academy Award-winner Amy Adams. Shawn Levy (Deadpool & Wolverine) is directing the film from a script by Jonathan Tropper (The Adam Project). Production is now underway, and Levy cannot hide his excitement, based on this statement:
“I feel a profound sense of excitement and honor as we begin production on Star Wars: Starfighter. From the day Kathy Kennedy called me up, inviting me to develop an original adventure in this incredible Star Wars galaxy, this experience has been a dream come true, creatively and personally. Star Wars shaped my sense of what story can do, how characters and cinematic moments can live with us forever. To join this storytelling galaxy with such brilliant collaborators onscreen and off, is the thrill of a lifetime.”
What Do We Know About ‘Star Wars: Starfighter’?
Announced at Star Wars Celebration 2025 in Tokyo, Starfighter will be set five years after the events of The Rise of Skywalker, making it the first theatrical story to move the saga beyond the Skywalker timeline. While details are being kept tightly under wraps, the project promises a standalone adventure with entirely new characters, new worlds, and fresh lore.
“It’s a big galaxy out there,” Levy teased at the Celebration panel. “And it feels like there’s an opportunity to do a movie that’s not a prequel, that’s not a sequel, and gives us the Star Wars DNA that we love, with an adventure that’s all new.”
The project will actually beat Daisy Ridley’s Rey-focused film to the timeline, marking the first look at the galaxy’s state post-Episode IX. Screenwriter Jonathan Tropper, who previously collaborated with Levy on The Adam Project, recently told Collider’s Christina Radish that working on Starfighter has been surreal. “That gig is something I’ve dreamed about my whole life,” Tropper said. “We’re still working on it. For various reasons, I can’t say anything about it. But we’re working on it.”
Starfighter is one of several theatrical projects currently in development at Lucasfilm. Next year brings Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian and Grogu (May 22, 2026), followed by James Mangold’s untitled ancient Jedi epic, and Ridley’s return as Rey in a sequel film.
Star Wars: Starfighter opens in theaters May 28, 2027.
via Collider