“Star Wars” hasn’t had a new movie in theaters since 2019, which in franchise terms is roughly an ice age. That drought is finally ending, and one of the films leading the charge just went before cameras. “Star Wars: Starfighter,” the Ryan Gosling-led adventure from director Shawn Levy, began filming on August 28, and with production underway the studio has locked in a cast deep enough to make this feel like a genuine event.
Let’s start with the man on the poster. Gosling is one of the most bankable and well-liked movie stars working, an actor who can swing from prestige drama to goofy blockbuster charm without missing a step, and handing him the keys to a fresh “Star Wars” story is a statement of intent. This isn’t a legacy-character victory lap or a sequel to something else. It’s a new face fronting a new story, exactly the kind of clean slate the franchise has needed on the big screen. Warning: beyond this point there are spoilers for Star Wars: Starfighter and where it sits on the galaxy’s timeline.
“Star Wars” hasn’t had a new movie in theaters since 2019, which in franchise terms is roughly an ice age. That drought is finally ending, and one of the films leading the charge just went before cameras.”
The setting is the part that should perk up every fan’s ears. “Starfighter” takes place roughly five years after the events of “The Rise of Skywalker” — which means it’s set later on the timeline than any “Star Wars” story we’ve seen, venturing into genuinely uncharted territory. After a decade of prequels, interquels, and shows filling gaps between existing films, here’s a movie actually moving the saga forward. Whatever happened to the galaxy after the Skywalker story closed, “Starfighter” is where we start to find out.
Levy is a shrewd choice to steer it. He’s spent years making crowd-pleasers that balance spectacle with heart, and he’s coming off the kind of blockbuster clout that lets a director shape a tentpole rather than just execute one. Pairing his populist instincts with Gosling’s star power reads like a deliberate move to make “Star Wars” fun and accessible again — a big, warm adventure aimed at everyone rather than a lore homework assignment for the faithful.
The supporting cast is where it gets ridiculous, in the best way. Joining Gosling are Matt Smith, Mia Goth, Aaron Pierre, Amy Adams, Simon Bird, Jamael Westman, and Daniel Ings — a lineup mixing genre heavyweights, prestige-drama royalty, and rising stars. Matt Smith brings villain potential, Mia Goth brings an unsettling edge, Aaron Pierre is one of the most in-demand actors around, and an Amy Adams “Star Wars” role is the kind of casting that makes you sit up. Whatever their parts turn out to be, that’s an ensemble built for a movie with ambitions.
The timing matters, too. “Starfighter” is aimed at a 2027 release, part of a one-two punch with “The Mandalorian and Grogu” that’s meant to drag “Star Wars” back to the multiplex after years of living almost entirely on Disney+. Streaming kept the galaxy alive through the drought, but there’s a reason the studio wants these characters back on the big screen — that’s where “Star Wars” became a phenomenon in the first place, and it’s where the franchise proves it still commands the cultural room.
There’s real pressure riding on this. A brand-new story with no legacy leads is a harder sell than another round of nostalgia, and a movie set after the divisive sequel trilogy inherits some of that baggage whether it wants to or not. But that’s also exactly why it’s exciting — it’s a swing at something new instead of a safe rummage through the archive. With cameras rolling, a star like Gosling out front, and a cast this loaded behind him, “Starfighter” has every ingredient to be the film that reminds people why they fell for a galaxy far, far away.
What Do You Think? Is setting “Starfighter” five years after “The Rise of Skywalker” the bold step forward “Star Wars” needs, or a risky move into a post-sequel-trilogy era some fans would rather forget? Can Ryan Gosling and a brand-new character carry a “Star Wars” movie without a single legacy hero, or does the franchise still lean too hard on nostalgia? Out of that stacked cast — Matt Smith, Mia Goth, Amy Adams and the rest — who do you most want to see turn up as the film’s villain?
See you on the next binge!
