The laundry list of upcoming "Star Wars" movies and TV shows just got quite a splashy addition: Hollywood superstar Ryan Gosling will lead a new "Star Wars" standalone film titled "Star Wars: Starfighter," with Canadian filmmaker Shawn Levy ("Deadpool & Wolverine", "Free Guy") in the director's seat.
The high-profile project was announced by Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy and Chief Creative Officer Dave Filoni at the "Star Wars" Celebration 2025 in Tokyo on Thursday, April 17. Along with teasing intel about the new feature film, the panel offered up an official release date for the movie: May 28, 2027.
That marks the second big-screen behemoth from Disney for that month. "Starfighter" will hit theaters only three weeks after "Avengers: Secret Wars," which bows May 7, 2027.
Star Wars: Starfighter comes to theaters on May 28, 2027. #StarWarsCelebration pic.twitter.com/dsbVb3VdBYApril 18, 2025
"Star Wars: Starfighter" will not be connected to the nine films that make up the franchise's ongoing "Skywalker Saga," which has centered on Jedi knight Luke Skywalker (iconically played by Mark Hamill for four decades) and his extended family.
“This is a standalone," Levy told audiences at the conference, per The Hollywood Reporter. "It’s not a prequel, not a sequel. It’s a new adventure. It’s set in a period of time that we haven’t seen explored yet."
"Star Wars: Starfighter" will take place approximately five years after the events of 2019’s "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker."
Levy also added that production starts this fall. The "Starfighter" project has been in the works since 2022, with a script from screenwriter Jonathan Tropper, who previously collaborated with Levy on films including "This Is Where I Leave You" and "The Adam Project."
As for Gosling, the A-list actor — who most recently starred in the 2023 billion-dollar blockbuster "Barbie" and the 2024 action-comedy "The Fall Guy" — cited a great script and a childhood love of "Stars Wars" as reasons why wanted to join the storied pop-culture franchise.
“The reality is that this script is just so good. It has such a great story with great and original characters,” said Gosling, per THR. “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.”
During the panel, the star also shared a sweet image of his childhood bedroom decked out in "Star Wars" sheets, courtesy of his mother. “As you can see from the picture, I guess I was probably dreaming about 'Star Wars' before I even saw the film. And it’s probably framed my idea of what a movie even was.”
Tom's Guide will keep you posted on all things related to "Star Wars: Starfighter", including casting details, plot points, teaser trailers and more.
