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Back in January, there were reports that Ryan Gosling was in talks to star in an untitled, standalone Star Wars film from director Shawn Levy. At the time, it was just an unconfirmed report and Gosling’s casting wasn’t even a done deal yet. As a Gosling fan I was intrigued but neutral. I’m over big franchises casting famous actors over giving an unknown person a shot.
Star Wars Celebration, Disney’s biennial Star Wars-centric convention, took place in Tokyo, Japan this past weekend. On Friday, Gosling and Levy appeared on a panel to officially confirm the project, announce its title, and give fans some info. Star Wars: Starfighter will be out in theaters in May 2027. It’s set around five years post The Rise of Skywalker, but will be a Skywalker-free, standalone story. Production begins in fall 2025.
“The film… is an entirely new adventure featuring all-new characters set in a period of time that has not been explored on screen,” said a statement from Lucasfilm, the owner of the “Star Wars” franchise.
Details of the film were announced at the Star Wars Celebration, a fan event in Japan on Friday. The audience was shown a photo of Gosling’s childhood “Star Wars”-branded bedding before he told them he was “dreaming about ‘Star Wars,’ before [he] ever saw it.”
“It’s always been there, it’s sort of in the DNA of the culture. Myself, I think it framed my idea of what a movie even was,” Gosling said on stage in a panel with Levy.
“The script is just so good, the story, it has so much adventure, so much heart and original character. It’s an opportunity to shine the light into a side of the universe that we may not have seen,” Gosling said.
Levy, the director of “Deadpool & Wolverine,” told the crowd the film would have all the “fun of ‘Star Wars’” but it would be done “in ways that are new and original.”
“Because obviously you take on ‘Star Wars,’ you take on something this beloved, it’s intimidating, you’re scared, you’re nervous, you want to get it right. But we have a feeling that with this story, with this collaboration, we can get it right,” he added.
My favorite Star Wars film outside of the original trilogy is Rogue One, so I am here for the so-called one-offs that somehow tie into the main storyline in some cool way. (Speaking of, Andor has come back just in time!) I’m very intrigued by the description, especially that it’s going to be Skywalker-free and focus on a completely new and different character in that galaxy. I actually really liked The Last Jedi and hated The Rise of Skywalker, so if we need to do a movie in a post-RoS universe, then I’m willing to give a brand new character a chance. (The Mandalorian & Grogu movie, out in 2026, is also set post-RoS events.) I also appreciate that Ryan is approaching joining the franchise with the proper amount of reverence and respect. Okay, fine, I am now officially here for Starfighter.
As for Celebration, my family and I were there! We went on Saturday. I was lucky enough to catch the Ahsoka panel with Dave Filoni, Rosario Dawson, and Jon Favreau, which was great. Rosario Dawson is very blonde now. Anyway, we had several friends who also went and were there on Friday for the Starfighter announcement. They said that Ryan’s appearance on the main stage was sort of a surprise and it went from being a regular amount of busy to a sudden tsunami of people flocking to the stage to see him. There is certainly excitement for Ryan to join the Star Wars Universe.
