The galaxy far, far away is ready for a new adventure as Star Wars: Starfighter, a new standalone film starring Ryan Gosling, is due to hit theaters on May 28, 2027. The upcoming movie will be directed by Shawn Levy, best known for Deadpool & Wolverine, and promises to release an all-new story set after Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019).
This marks the first Star Wars film to hit theaters in almost eight years, following the long break after The Rise of Skywalker. While the Disney+ series has kept fans busy with shows like The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, and Andor, Starfighter will officially bring the story back to the big screen.
A New Story in the Star Wars Galaxy
According to director Shawn Levy and Lucasfilm, Star Wars: Starfighter is a standalone film, meaning it won’t directly connect to the Skywalker Saga or existing spinoffs. Instead, it will introduce new characters and a fresh story set five years after the events of The Rise of Skywalker. This makes it the latest live-action story in the Star Wars timeline so far.
Speaking at Star Wars Celebration on April 17, 2025, in Tokyo, Japan, Levy confirmed Gosling’s casting in front of an excited crowd. Levy said, “I had heard at one point that my movie was going to star Ryan Gosling and, believe me, that would be a dream come true for me. So today, I just wanted to tell you here in this room that that rumor is 100% true.”
Levy said, “[It’s] not a prequel, not a sequel, just gives us the Star Wars DNA that we love but with an adventure that’s all new,” as reported by People.
Ryan Gosling Joins the Force
Gosling said that being part of Star Wars has been a dream since childhood. At the event, he even shared a photo of his Star Wars-themed bedsheets from when he was five years old, as reported by The Independent.
“As you can see from the picture, I guess I was probably dreaming about Star Wars before I even saw the film,” Gosling joked. “And it probably framed my idea of what a movie even was.”
“The reality is that this script is just so good,” Gosling said. “It has such a great story with great and original characters. It’s filled with so much heart and adventure, and there just really is not a more perfect filmmaker for this particular story than Shawn.”
While his exact role remains undisclosed, fans are already speculating that Gosling could be playing a star pilot or soldier who leads a new rebellion across the galaxy. The rest of the cast includes several notable names alongside Gosling, such as Flynn Gray, Matt Smith, Mia Goth, Aaron Pierre, Simon Bird, Jamael Westman, Daniel Ings, and Amy Adams. Lucasfilm revealed the full lineup when production officially began in the United Kingdom, as reported by Space.
Director Levy shared his excitement as filming kicked off, stating in a press release, “I feel a profound sense of excitement and honor as we begin production on Star Wars: Starfighter. From the day [Lucasfilm president] 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.”
He added that Star Wars has influenced his storytelling style, “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.”
Starfighter follows the 2026 release of The Mandalorian & Grogu. The movie is expected to be released on Disney+ after a few months of its theatrical release.
Star Wars: Starfighter premieres exclusively in theaters on May 28, 2027.
