Ryan Gosling suiting up for ‘Star Wars: Starfighter’: All the details
Ryan Gosling is entering that galaxy far, far away.
The Oscar-nominated actor was officially confirmed as the lead in Star Wars: Starfighter, a standalone installment taking place five years after the events of the last Star Wars feature, 2019's Rise of Skywalker.
Shawn Levy, fresh off his box-office-busting turn helming Deadpool & Wolverine, is directing, and producing the film, which has been rumored for months. As he told the crowd at Star Wars Celebration, "The rumors are true."
Ryan Gosling, star of the upcoming Star Wars: Starfighter, makes his Star Wars Celebration debut. pic.twitter.com/CeZtI36QhO
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The announcement kicked off the Star Wars Celebration fan festival in Japan and was delivered by Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy and Dave Filoni, the chief creative officer.
Production will begin this fall for a May 28, 2027 release. Star Wars: Starfighter will cover new territory in franchise storytelling and won't feature any of the major characters from prior releases, according to Levy, a four-time Emmy nominee for Stranger Things and whose credits also include Free Guy and Night at the Museum. He has been developing the project for the past three years with screenwriter Jonathan Tropper. The two previously collaborated on The Adam Project and This Is Where I Leave You.
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“This is a standalone. It’s not a prequel, not sequel. It’s a new adventure. It’s set in a period of time that we haven’t seen explored yet,” said Levy, per The Hollywood Reporter.
“The reality is that this script is just so good. It has such a great story with great and original characters,” said Gosling. “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.”
Gosling, sporting a hat inscribed with the classic Han Solo line "never tell me the odds," also wound up getting clowned by his mom, who sent over a photo of his Star Wars childhood bedsheets, an image that was projected in the hall for attendees.
“As you can see from the picture, I guess I was probably dreaming about Star Wars before I even saw the film," Gosling cracked, according to THR. "And it’s probably framed my idea of what a movie even was.”
According to a Variety report, Anora Oscar winner Mikey Madison turned down a lead role opposite Gosling in Starfighter.
The Star Wars movie universe has sputtered since Rise of Skywalker's largely panned conclusion of the main story begun in 1977's original film. Starfighter is only the second film green-lit since 2019. The first, The Mandalorian and Grogu, a spinoff from the Disney+ hit show, is slated to arrive in theaters on May 22, 2026.
Lucasfilm says that previously announced projects by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, James Mangold, and Taika Waititi, as well as a new trilogy by Simon Kinberg, remain in the pipeline with no locked-in dates.
Gosling, a three-time Oscar nominee (Barbie, La La Land, Half Nelson), will next be seen be seen in the sci-fi thriller Project Hail Mary, due in 2026.