Disney Reportedly Confident in Shawn Levy’s ‘Star Wars: Starfighter’

Ryan Gosling Could Potentially Save the ‘Star Wars’ Franchise, at Least According to Lucasfilm Executives

The future of Star Wars at Disney and Lucasfilm now hinges on the theatrical success of the upcoming The Mandalorian & Grogu and Starfighter films after a multi-year hiatus following
2019’s The Rise of Skywalker.

With Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan named Co-Presidents at Lucasfilm after longtime studio lead Kathleen Kennedy stepped down, fans are looking for a cohesive, long-term plan for Star Wars and other projects rather than an era of controversy and uncertainty.

According to a report from Variety, Disney is soundly optimistic about the success of Shawn Levy’s Star Wars: Starfighter (2027), which it believes will recapture the franchise’s former glory.

For those executives lucky enough to have seen early footage, the word is that the performance by Ryan Gosling stands out the most.

The article states, “There’s a sense that Star Wars: Starfighter, a spinoff from Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy, is more likely to satisfy fans when it hits theaters next spring, with sources who have seen footage praising Ryan Gosling’s performance and suggesting Levy has recaptured the franchise’s spirit of fun.”

Filming for Levy’s Starfighter wrapped back in late December, with the director sharing the news on Instagram with a picture of himself running through an Inception-style corridor that was used for a scene in the film. That specific photo has been one of the few that gives a clear idea of the look of the film.

Other than that, Levy has been able to keep the film under wraps without there being any releases of behind-the-scenes photos, other than one in a Vanity Fair interview, where he’s shown in a very Star Wars-looking corridor with a woman on set who looks kind of like Amy Adams. Could it be her stunt double?

Plot details for the film have not yet been revealed, other than featuring new characters, including a 15-year-old padawan (Flynn Gray) and his mentor (Gosling), navigating a chaotic post-First Order galaxy where the New Republic struggles to establish control. Gosling told the audience earlier this year at Star Wars Celebration in Tokyo.

“The reality is that this script is just so good. It has such a great story with great and original characters,” “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.”

Star Wars: Starfighter boasts an all-star-studded cast to support Gosling, Gray, and Amy Adams, including rising star Aaron Pierre and Jamaal Westman. They’re joined by Simon Bird, Daniel Ings, Mia Goth, and Matt Smith.

“I feel a profound sense of excitement and honor as we begin production on Star Wars: Starfighter,” Levy said in a statement when production kicked off in the United Kingdom via The Hollywood Reporter. “From the day Kathy Kennedy called me up, inviting me to develop an original adventure in this incredible Star Wars galaxy, this experience has been a dream come true, creatively and personally. Star Wars shaped my sense of what story can do, how characters and cinematic moments can live with us forever. To join this storytelling galaxy with such brilliant collaborators onscreen and off is the thrill of a lifetime.”

The news that Disney is reportedly confident in Levy’s film, believing that this one is more “likely to satisfy fans,” is definitely the positive vibe fans need at this time.

There’s also something appealing about a clean slate and having a theatrical Star Wars adventure with all new casting characters. It’s worked for Paramount’s Star Trek with its all-new Paramount hit series Starfleet Academy, so why not the galaxy far, far away…

Star Wars: Starfighter is scheduled for release on May 28, 2027. Before that, Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian & Grogu is set to hit theaters on May 22, 2026.

May the Force be with you…