Ryan Gosling already survived going to space in “Project Hail Mary,” but now he’s ready to blast off to a galaxy far, far away in “Star Wars: Starfighter.” The upcoming “Star Wars” movie previewed footage at D23 and is set to release in theaters on May 28, 2027.
Ryan Gosling is Kade Auberon. Experience Star Wars: Starfighter, starring Ryan Gosling, only in theaters May 28, 2027. pic.twitter.com/hoFlXv8nLL
Disney and Lucasfilm have kept plot details about “Starfighter” locked up tight, but it’ll be the first follow-up to 2019’s “Episode 9: The Rise of Skywalker” and a fully standalone story. Gosling’s movie will be set five years after the latest trilogy ended, with the chance that some characters may return from the “Star Wars” sequels. “Deadpool & Wolverine” director Shawn Levy, a self-professed “Star Wars” fan, helms the new movie with a script by Jonathan Tropper.
Levy and Gosling appeared onstage at Disney’s D23 fan event Friday night to preview the film.
“Our movie comes out May 2027. I’m honored that we’re releasing our film on the same exact weekend that the original ‘Star Wars’ came out exactly 50 years earlier,” said Levy. “‘Starfighter’ embodies the themes of hope and family that have always ben core to [these films]. It takes place in a period of time that’s never been shown in a Star Wars adventure.”
In the short teaser shown at D23, Gosling’s pilot character Kade Auberon finds a young man playing with a star fighter jet that’s decommissioned but was known as the fastest ever built. After tuning her up, Gosling flies through alien landscapes, including massive, skyscraper-sized geysers emerging from a planet’s ocean. There’s also a shot of droids shooting at the ship, and Kade’s robot pilot helping him take off.
The cast includes young actor Flynn Gray, who appeared in a first-look photo of himself and Gosling in character shooting in the Mediterranean Sea. Unlike past “Star Wars” locations like the desert planet Tatooine or the snowy Hoth, “Starfighter” could feature a more distinct look after the crew filmed in Sardinia, Italy. Fellow cast members include Matt Smith, Mia Goth, Aaron Pierre, Simon Bird, Jamael Westman, Daniel Ings and Amy Adams.
“Star Wars” fans have waited a long time for another big-screen adventure since “The Rise of Skywalker.” “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” which continued the story of Pedro Pascal’s masked bounty hunter and Baby Yoda, previously hit theaters May 22. After three seasons of “The Mandalorian,” “Star Wars” has thrived on Disney+ with streaming shows like “The Mandalorian,” “The Book of Boba Fett,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” “Ahsoka,” “Andor,” “The Acolyte” and “Skeleton Crew.”