It’s off to the stars for “Barbie” star Ryan Gosling as he heads to a galaxy far, far away in an all-new Shawn Levy “Star Wars” film titled “Star Wars: Starfighter.”
On Friday morning, at the “Star Wars” Celebration in Tokyo, the rumors of Gosling being tied to Levy’s project were confirmed, reported Variety.
According to a video posted on X by the franchise, Gosling joined the “Deadpool & Wolverine” director, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and chief creative officer Dave Filoni on stage to officially unveil the plans for the film, “Star Wars: Starfighter.”
When discussing details of the film, fans got a glimpse of Gosling’s love for the franchise with a picture of his childhood “Star Wars” bedding. He said that he was “dreaming about Star Wars, before (he) ever saw it,” reported CNN.
“It’s always been there, it’s sort of in the DNA of the culture. Myself, I think it framed my idea of what a movie even was,” Gosling said, according to CNN.
The “Fall Guy” actor was also the one to confirm that “Star Wars: Starfighter” will be in theaters worldwide on May 28, 2027, according to a post by AP Entertainment on X.
“Being here and seeing all of you (makes it) more inspiring to do it. There’s so much creativity and imagination in this room and there’s so much love. It’s such a great reminder of how much movies can mean to us, specifically how much these movies mean to us,” Gosling told the audience at the end of the presentation, according to Variety. “The force is a mysterious thing, but, as I’m here, the force is the fans. All we can hope for is, ‘May the fans be with us.’”
What will ‘Star Wars: Starfighter’ be about?
According to Variety, Levy’s film will be a standalone, focusing on new characters and will be set about five years after the events of “Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker."
It was also confirmed that Jonathan Tropper — who has written for some of Levy’s other films — has written the screenplay for the Star Wars film, per Variety.
“The script is just so good, the story, it has so much adventure, so much heart and original character. It’s an opportunity to shine the light into a side of the universe that we may not have seen,” Gosling said, according to CNN.
“The Adam Project” director also assured audience members that all the “fun of Star Wars” would be included in the film, but “in ways that are new and original,” reported CNN.
He continued, “Because obviously you take on ‘Star Wars,’ you take on something this beloved, it’s intimidating, you’re scared, you’re nervous, you want to get it right. But we have a feeling that with this story, with this collaboration, we can get it right.”
Other announcements from ‘Star Wars’ Celebration
‘Ahsoka’ Season 2 will begin filming
According to IGN, Kennedy and Filoni opened the Lucasfilm panel by announcing that the long awaited “Ahsoka” Season 2 would begin shooting “as soon as (Filoni) gets off the plane from Celebration.”
The first season of the live action show, starring Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano, was first released in 2023.
With the passing of Ray Stevenson in May 2023, Deseret News reported that “Game of Thrones” actor Rory McCann will be taking on Stevenson’s role as former Jedi Baylan Skoll.
‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’
Pedro Pascal, Sigourney Weaver and director Jon Favreau received a warm welcome by fans as they announced that the upcoming film, “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” would be coming to theaters on May 22, 2026, according to a post from Star Wars on X.
The post also showed that Favreau also brought Grogu out for a special appearance!
Lucasfilm Animation celebrates 20 years
In celebration of 20 years of Lucasfilm Animation, the franchise shared a video with behind the scenes footage along with interviews from George Lucas, Filoni and others discussing the creation of the franchises beloved animated shows, including “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” and “Star Wars: Rebels,” according to a post on X.
The franchise also announced a new animated series, “Maul: Shadow Lord,” will be released in 2026 and follow Maul’s life before the events of “Star Wars: Rebels,” Discussing Film reported on X.
But the franchise didn’t stop there.
Fans at the Celebration in Tokyo received a surprise appearance from Sam Witwer — original voice actor for the Sith character — when the show was announced, according to a post from Star Wars on X.