Lucasfilm has finally pulled back the curtain on one of its most buzzed-about projects: Star Wars: Starfighter, a new standalone film starring Ryan Gosling and directed by Deadpool & Wolverine filmmaker Shawn Levy. Officially unveiled during Star Wars Celebration in Tokyo, Starfighter is set to begin production this fall with a theatrical release date locked in for May 28, 2027.
This new film will break fresh ground in the galaxy far, far away, set five years after The Rise of Skywalker. That places it as the current endpoint in the Star Wars cinematic timeline, following the end of the Skywalker saga. While plot specifics and additional cast details are still under wraps, the project is already generating intense interest—both for what it represents and who’s behind it.
Gosling’s involvement is a big move. Known for picking offbeat roles and largely avoiding franchise blockbusters, his previous big IP roles in Blade Runner 2049 and Barbie earned critical acclaim but didn’t reach the global box office heights of Star Wars. With Starfighter, he’s diving headfirst into one of the biggest franchises in entertainment history—and this time, he’s front and center.
As for director Shawn Levy, he’s riding high after the success of Deadpool & Wolverine, which smashed records as the highest-grossing R-rated film ever. Levy now gets the keys to the Star Wars galaxy, bringing with him a reputation for balancing high-octane action with surprising emotional depth.
It’s also worth noting that Starfighter will hit theaters just a year after The Mandalorian & Grogu, the upcoming film continuation of the hit Disney+ series. That movie, already wrapped, releases in May 2026 and marks Star Wars’ return to the big screen after a seven-year hiatus.
Starfighter seems poised to usher in a new chapter—new characters, a new tone, and maybe a new audience. Whether or not it will launch a new era or simply be a thrilling one-off remains to be seen, but with Gosling and Levy at the helm, expectations are sky high.
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