Ryan Gosling Joins the Galaxy in ‘Star Wars: Starfighter’ — Release Set for May 2027

Ryan Gosling is strapping in for hyperspace. Lucasfilm has officially confirmed that the Oscar-nominated actor will headline Star Wars: Starfighter, a brand-new installment in the franchise, directed by Deadpool & Wolverine helmer Shawn Levy. Disney has locked in a theatrical release date for May 28, 2027, with filming expected to begin this fall.

The announcement came during Lucasfilm’s Star Wars Celebration event in Tokyo, where Gosling and Levy made a surprise appearance. Wearing a cap that read “Never tell me the odds,” Gosling addressed the crowd with clear emotion. “The force is the fans,” he said. “May the fans be with us.”

Starfighter is a standalone story that picks up five years after the events of The Rise of Skywalker, placing it at the current edge of the Star Wars timeline. While plot details remain under wraps, the film promises to explore new characters and distant corners of the galaxy, free from the Skywalker legacy.

The script comes from Jonathan Tropper, who has previously collaborated with Levy on The Adam Project and This Is Where I Leave You. Both director and writer are known for balancing humor and heart, which suggests Starfighter may bring a fresh tonal shift to the Star Wars universe.

Levy, still riding high from the record-breaking success of Deadpool & Wolverine, expressed a deep personal connection to the material. “We’ve spent our lives in the audience,” he said. “We know how meaningful these stories are.”

This marks a bold new chapter for Gosling, an actor who’s spent much of his career steering away from blockbuster IPs. While he’s flirted with massive franchises before (Blade Runner 2049, Barbie), Starfighter places him at the center of one of cinema’s most powerful machines. With Levy directing and Lucasfilm behind the controls, this could be the beginning of a new trilogy — or at least a fresh tone for the future of Star Wars.

Before Starfighter hits the big screen, fans will get a taste of theatrical Star Wars with The Mandalorian & Grogu, arriving May 22, 2026. That film has already wrapped production and will officially break the franchise’s six-year big-screen silence since The Rise of Skywalker.

As Gosling said from the Celebration stage: “There’s so much love here. It’s a reminder of how much these stories matter.”