:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/star-wars-star-fighter-main-split-041825-5a5326ae3e5248d791881b8077a59edd.jpg)
Get ready, Star Wars fans, because there’s a new adventure happening in a galaxy far, far away.
During an April 17 Star Wars Celebration event in Tokyo, LucasFilm announced that another Star Wars film — titled Star Wars: Starfighter — is coming. The movie will be directed by Shawn Levy, who also revealed the project’s leading man: Ryan Gosling.
“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,” Levy told the crowd. “So today, I just wanted to tell you here in this room that that rumor is 100% true.”
Star Wars: Starfighter will serve as a standalone movie, taking place several years after 2019’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
“[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,” Levy explained. “[It’s] a world we haven’t seen on-screen.”
Here’s everything to know about the highly-anticipated film Star Wars: Starfighter.
When will Star Wars: Starfighter be released?
Christopher Jue/Getty
Star Wars: Starfighter is slated to hit theaters on May 28, 2027, according to the official teaser trailer.
What is Star Wars: Starfighter about?
Lucasfilm via Everett Collection
Plot details for Star Wars: Starfighter have yet to be released, but viewers can expect a brand-new adventure with new characters.
“It takes place in a period after the Battle of Exegol, after episode 9,” Levy said at the April 2025 announcement, referencing Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
He continued, “[There are] so many opportunities to tell a Star Wars story that has all the heart and action and fun of Star Wars, but to do it in ways that are new and original.”
As viewers may remember, the Battle of Exegol was the climactic showdown between the Resistance and the First Order, which ended with the Sith being destroyed once and for all. The battle took place on Exegol, a planet in the Unknown Regions.
Following the destruction of the Sith fleet, the people of the galaxy rose against the First Order, setting the stage for Star Wars: Starfighter.
Who is in the Star Wars: Starfighter cast?
Jon Kopaloff/Getty
As of now, Ryan Gosling is the only confirmed cast member of Star Wars: Starfighter. His casting was announced at the Star Wars Celebration in Tokyo in April 2025.
“Being here and seeing all of you [makes it] more inspiring to do it,” he said, per Variety. “There’s so much creativity and imagination in this room, and there’s so much love. It’s such a great reminder of how much movies can mean to us, specifically how much these movies mean to us.”
Gosling added, “The force is a mysterious thing, but, as I’m here, the force is the fans. All we can hope for is, ‘May the fans be with us.’ “
Who is directing Star Wars: Starfighter?
Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty
Shawn Levy will helm Star Wars: Starfighter. His past directing projects include Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), The Adam Project (2022) and Free Guy (2021).
The film’s script — which Gosling described as “so good” at the April 2025 announcement — was written by Jonathan Tropper, per Variety. Tropper previously collaborated with Levy on The Adam Project and This Is Where I Leave You (2014).
“It has such a great story with great and original characters,” Gosling added. “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 [Levy].”
What has Ryan Gosling said about joining the Star Wars universe?
Scott Kirkland/Disney via Getty
Gosling is a lifelong Star Wars fan. He even proved this at Tokyo’s Star Wars Celebration by sharing a photo of his Star Wars bedsheets from when he was 5 years old.
“[My mom] still has them, obviously,” the Oscar-nominated actor told the crowd. “Naturally, she thought that it might be something that the fans would appreciate, but I suspect that she just sort of wants to justify years of hoarding.”
Gosling continued, “I was probably dreaming about Star Wars before I even saw the film, and it probably framed my idea of what a movie even was.”
When does filming for Star Wars: Starfighter start?
Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty
Star Wars: Starfighter is in pre-production, per Levy. Filming is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2025.
