Today at Star Wars Celebration 2025 in Japan, Lucasfilm’s President Kathleen Kennedy and Chief Creative Officer Dave Filoni announced an all-new theatrical release set in the Star Wars galaxy. Star Wars: Starfighter will open exclusively in theaters May 28, 2027. The press release reads as follows:
“Star Wars: Starfighter, which will be directed by Shawn Levy and star Ryan Gosling, is a standalone adventure taking place approximately five years after the events of 2019’s Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker. The film, which will begin production this Fall, is an entirely new adventure featuring all-new characters set in a period of time that has not been explored on screen yet.”
Shawn Levy recently had a massive hit with his Marvel movie Deadpool & Wolverine, so he’s familiar with big-budget franchise filmmaking. He has also perfected the kid-friendly family movie, which fits the Star Wars brand; he has written and directed such films as Cheaper by the Dozen, The Pink Panther, Night at the Museum, Date Night, Free Guy, and The Adam Project, along with episodes of Stranger Things. Levy will be writing and directing Star Wars: Starfighter.
Gosling most recently starred in the 2024 blockbuster Barbie,” for which he received Oscar and Golden Globe nominations. He seems perfect for a Star Wars movie, having a kind of Han Solo vibe himself; he even starred with Harrison Ford in Denis Villeneuve’s great sci-fi movie, Blade Runner: 2049.
‘Star Wars: Starfighter’ Is a Classic Video Game
Considering the title, it’s very likely that the film will draw from the 2001 LucasArts video game of the same name, which took place around the Battle of Naboo. It follows a group of starfighter pilots who attempt to prevent an invasion of Naboo. The game occasionally shifts perspectives between different characters who ultimate unite in the fight — Rhys Dallows, a member of the Naboo Royal Space Fighter Corps; Vana Sage, a mercenery hired by the Trade Federation; the Toydarian Reti; and Nym, a Feeorin pirate. It looks like Gosling may be playing Rhys Dallows in the film.
IGN describes the plot in this way:
“The storyline is set mainly outside of the events in The Phantom Menace and leads up to the epic finale over the planet of Naboo. The three pilots — Rhys, Vana, and Nym — will fly missions on an original plot that will interweave with The Phantom Menace’s key points, including the Droid Control Ship battle at the end. Rhys Dallows is a Naboo fighter pilot, orphaned from Bravo Flight when a meeting with the Trade Federation goes bad. Vana Sage is an ex-pilot turned mercenary. She works for the Trade Federation just briefly, but winds up double-crossed and out for payback. That puts her in a similar frame of mind as the space pirate Nym, whose base is destroyed in retaliation for the hijacking of a Federation freighter. Once the game gets into full swing, all three characters team up to play a part in the war that ends over Naboo.”
“They each have their own vehicles — a Naboo N-1 Starfighter, a Guardian Mantis, and a Havoc muscle ship. Rhys’ Starfighter has your basic laser cannons and proton torpedoes and is the speediest of the craft. Vana’s ship, the Guardian Mantis, is the most highly maneuverable of the bunch and has sensor guided Nano missiles and Ion-enabled sensor tags that work together. Nym has the slowest, but most powerful of the ships, as his starship is equipped with dual triple-laser canons, energy bombs, and a Plasma Scourge.”
Time will tell just how similar the film is to the game, but having Levy and Gosling involved is sure to get Star Wars fans excited.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
