There’s a new Star Wars movie coming, and with it a trip to a galaxy far, far away in a new time period. Star Wars: Starfighter is scheduled for a May 2027 release, starring Ryan Gosling (yes, Ken from the Barbie movie) as a brand new character for the franchise. We don’t know much about his role or the film yet, though director Shawn Levy revealed a bit last week during the Star Wars Celebration fan event in Japan.
«The movie is a new adventure. It’s new characters,» said Levy. «It takes place in a new period of time after the battle of Exegol, after Episode 9.»
Episode 9 refers to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which came out in 2019, and the planet Exegol was the site of a battle during the war between the First Order and the Resistance.
No one was surprised to see plans for a new Star Wars movie, given how the franchise has drastically expanded since Disney bought the franchise’s parent company, Lucasfilm, in 2012.
Fans ready for a standalone Star Wars film
The new film has excited superfans like Jimmy «Mac» McInerney, host and producer of the Rebel Force Radio: Star Wars Podcast.
«Superfans like me will be there for anything Star Wars, but I really hope Levy and Gosling will pack the appropriate punch to excite the masses,» McInerney told CNET. «I’m also very optimistic that this will be a standalone story with a solid beginning, middle and end.»
The movie will be set around five years after the events of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and it won’t follow any of the main plot lines from past films. So it’s not a prequel or a sequel, it’s a new adventure.
Mclnerney thinks the standalone nature of Star Wars: Starfighter might be a good thing.
«Sometimes Star Wars gets crushed under the weight of its existing lore, so it’s nice to know this will be a self-contained adventure,» he said. «This could provide fandom with a nice palate cleanser following the divisive sequel trilogy and propel the franchise into the future.»
For now, you can find all the Star Wars content your heart desires on the streaming service Disney+.
