Star Wars: Starfighter is lifting off the launch pad. The newest Star Wars movie commenced filming today, commemorating the occasion with a first-look image from the set. The black-and-white shot shows off cast members Ryan Gosling and the just-announced Flynn Gray atop what appears to be a landspeeder. The film will race into theaters on May 28, 2027.

Announcing that “a whole new adventure begins,” the official Star Wars Twitter account released the shot of Gosling and Gray (Wednesday) on the prop vehicle. The open-topped hovering conveyance seems to resemble a more advanced version of the vehicle famously used by Luke Skywalker to get around Tattooine in 1977’s Star Wars: A New Hope. Says director Shawn Levy (Deadpool & Wolverine), “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’?

So far, plot and character details about Starfighter are being kept more secret than the Death Star plans. Levy is directing from a script by Jonathan Tropper (Your Friends and Neighbors). It’s a standalone story, featuring all-new characters and settings; it will take place five years after the sequel trilogy-concluding The Rise of Skywalker, an as-yet unexplored time period, and will presumably center around the outer-space dogfights that are a hallmark of the franchise. Gosling will star, with Matt Smith (Doctor Who) and Mia Goth (MaXXXine) as the villains. Several new cast members were also announced today, including Gray, Aaron Pierre (Rebel Ridge), Simon Bird (The Inbetweeners), Jamael Westman (The Essex Serpent), Daniel Ings (The Gentlemen), and Amy Adams (Arrival).

Star Wars: Starfighter is the second Star Wars film in the pipeline, after a quiet theatrical period following the mixed reception to 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker. The Mandalorian and Grogu, a big-screen continuation of the popular The Mandalorian TV series on Disney+, is set to hit theaters on May 22, 2026.

Star Wars: Starfighter will premiere in theaters on May 28, 2027.

via Collider