Lucasfilm’s next trip to a galaxy far, far away finally has a release date attached to it, and Ryan Gosling is the one strapping into the cockpit. Star Wars: Starfighter is set to land in theaters on May 28, 2027, and after months of casting reveals and a UK production shoot, the film has now wrapped filming with director Shawn Levy heading into the edit room.
Here’s everything confirmed so far about the release date, the full cast, and what little is known about the story itself.
It’s a notable moment for the franchise too. Since the sequel trilogy wrapped in 2019, Lucasfilm’s live-action slate has mostly stuck to television, with Disney+ carrying the bulk of new Star Wars stories. Starfighter marks a return to the big screen with an entirely original cast, no legacy characters attached, and one of Hollywood’s most in-demand leading men at the center of it.
Star Wars: Starfighter Release Date
Star Wars: Starfighter opens in theaters on May 28, 2027, over the Memorial Day weekend in the US. That timing matters beyond just being a strong box office slot — it also marks the first mainline Star Wars film to push the saga’s timeline forward since 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker, with the story picking up roughly five years after the events of that film.
As of this summer, Shawn Levy has confirmed filming is complete and the project is now fully in post-production. Levy has said he’s settled into the edit room and doesn’t expect to resurface publicly with the finished cut until sometime next year, which lines up with a movie that still has close to a year before it needs a trailer. No teaser or footage has been released publicly yet.
Who’s in the Star Wars: Starfighter Cast
Ryan Gosling headlines the film as a solitary pilot who gets pulled into a mission far bigger than himself. Joining him is young actor Flynn Gray, playing a character described as central to the story alongside Gosling’s lead. On the villain side, Lucasfilm has confirmed both Matt Smith and Mia Goth in antagonist roles, giving the film a genuinely unsettling pair of adversaries for Gosling’s pilot to face off against.
The supporting cast rounds out with Amy Adams, who has said in interviews that her part in the film is intentionally small, alongside Aaron Pierre, Simon Bird, Jamael Westman, and Daniel Ings. It’s a deep bench for a Star Wars film that isn’t built around any of the existing Skywalker-saga characters, and it signals how much confidence Lucasfilm is putting behind this new direction.
What Is Star Wars: Starfighter About?
Plot details are still being kept tightly under wraps, which is typical for a Star Wars production at this stage. What’s been confirmed is the setting: a galaxy still rebuilding in the aftermath of the Skywalker saga, where Gosling’s pilot becomes entangled in a mission that could shape the future of the Force itself. Rather than continuing any existing character’s story, Starfighter is being positioned as a standalone tale built around entirely new characters, written by Jonathan Tropper.
That standalone framing is a deliberate swing for the franchise. Instead of leaning on nostalgia or legacy characters, Starfighter is betting that audiences will follow a fresh story and a fresh cast, with Gosling as the anchor.
Where Starfighter Fits in the Star Wars Timeline
Every live-action Star Wars film since the prequels has stayed within, or looked backward from, the timeline established by the original trilogy and its sequels. Starfighter breaks that pattern by moving forward in time instead, set in the years following The Rise of Skywalker. That alone makes it one of the more significant structural choices Lucasfilm has made for the franchise in years, since it opens the door to stories that aren’t anchored to the Skywalker family at all.
What’s Next for Ryan Gosling and Shawn Levy
Starfighter isn’t a one-off pairing for Gosling and Levy — the two have already lined up their next project together. Gosling is set to star as Johnny Blaze in Marvel Studios’ upcoming Ghost Rider reboot, with Levy directing, following the duo’s on-set collaboration during Starfighter’s production. That announcement, made shortly after Starfighter wrapped filming, suggests the working relationship between the two has become one of the more closely watched partnerships in Hollywood right now.
For now, all eyes stay on Starfighter as the nearer-term release. With filming done and Levy in the edit room, the next major update fans should expect is likely a first teaser trailer, though Lucasfilm hasn’t given any indication of timing yet. Given the May 2027 release date, a first-look trailer attached to a major theatrical release sometime in late 2026 or early 2027 would be the most typical rollout for a tentpole of this size.
Between now and then, expect the usual steady drip of Star Wars: Starfighter details — official character posters, a full trailer, and eventually press interviews as the cast starts doing rounds ahead of release. Until then, the May 28, 2027 date and this cast list are the two confirmed pillars fans have to build expectations around.
FAQ: Star Wars Starfighter
When does Star Wars: Starfighter release?
Star Wars: Starfighter is scheduled to release in theaters on May 28, 2027.
Who plays the villains in Star Wars: Starfighter?
Matt Smith and Mia Goth both play antagonist roles opposite Ryan Gosling’s lead character.
Is Star Wars: Starfighter connected to the Skywalker saga?
No — it’s being told as a standalone story set roughly five years after The Rise of Skywalker, built around new characters rather than existing Skywalker-saga figures.
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