Ryan Gosling gave fans their first real look at Star Wars: Starfighter on Friday, unveiling footage from the upcoming film during a surprise presentation in Los Angeles. The actor, who stars as Kade Auberon, described the project as an original story following “a guy from the wrong side of the galaxy” - a character he says is far removed from the Jedi and Sith legends audiences have followed for decades.
The footage, shown to a small group of press and industry insiders, offered brief glimpses of Gosling’s scruffy pilot navigating sleek starfighters and dusty outer-rim settlements. While full plot details remain under wraps, the film is confirmed to take place roughly five years after the events of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, placing it in a galaxy still recovering from the final battle against the First Order.
A New Kind of Star Wars Hero
Gosling, speaking after the screening, emphasized that Kade Auberon is not a chosen one or a trained warrior. “He’s just a guy trying to get by, and the galaxy keeps pulling him into things way above his pay grade,” the actor said. The character’s working-class roots and survival instincts are central to the film’s tone, which director Shawn Levy described as a blend of gritty adventure and classic swashbuckling energy.
Levy, known for Free Guy and the Stranger Things episodes he helmed, took the stage to introduce the footage. He stressed that while the movie honors the saga’s legacy, it deliberately focuses on a corner of the universe where the Empire’s fall didn’t automatically mean peace. “This is about people who never got a parade,” Levy told the crowd. “They’re still scraping together a living, and suddenly they’re caught in something massive.”
Expanding the Cast and Universe
The film’s ensemble includes Flynn Gray, Mia Goth, Amy Adams, Matt Smith, Aaron Pierre, Simon Bird, and Jamael Westman, though their roles remain officially unconfirmed. Industry speculation points to Goth and Smith potentially playing antagonists, but neither actor offered details during the event. Adams, a frequent collaborator with Levy on projects like Night at the Museum, was spotted chatting with Gosling afterward, though she declined to comment on her part.
What the footage did reveal was a visual shift from the polished corridors of recent Star Wars entries. The brief clips showed rusted hangar bays, crowded cantinas filled with unfamiliar alien species, and dogfights that felt more improvisational than the tightly choreographed battles of the Skywalker saga. One standout shot featured Gosling’s character jumping into a beat-up starfighter with a mismatched hull, a deliberate design choice Levy said reflects Kade’s resourcefulness.
A 2027 Release Date and Big Expectations
Disney and Lucasfilm have slated Star Wars: Starfighter for a theatrical release on May 26, 2027, a date that carries symbolic weight as the anniversary of the original Star Wars debut in 1977. The studio has kept the runtime under wraps, and no rating has been announced yet. With production reportedly well underway, the first footage suggests a hands-on, practical-effects approach mixed with digital environments, a balance Levy said was essential.
“We shot on real sets whenever we could,” the director explained. “There’s dirt under the fingernails in this movie. That was the mandate.” Gosling echoed that sentiment, noting how the physical sets helped him ground a character who is “not heroic in a traditional sense.” He added, “Kade doesn’t care about the Force. He cares about his ship, his crew, and his next meal.”
A Deliberate Departure from the Skywalker Line
The film’s placement in the timeline - five years after The Rise of Skywalker - gives it freedom from the legacy characters while still operating in a recognizable era. No mention of Rey, Finn, or Poe appeared in the footage, and Levy confirmed the story stands on its own. “We’re not doing cameos for the sake of nostalgia,” he said. “We’re telling a fresh story with new stakes.”
That approach comes with risk. A Star Wars movie without a lightsaber duel or a familiar villain could alienate some fans, but Gosling’s star power and Levy’s track record with crowd-pleasing blockbusters have generated early buzz. The actor, who has balanced indie dramas with major franchises, said he was drawn to the script’s “blue-collar sci-fi” angle. “The galaxy is huge, and we’ve seen the people in charge. I wanted to see the people underneath,” he said.
No further public screenings are planned before the release, though Levy hinted that more footage could arrive online in the coming months. For now, the brief glimpse was enough to confirm that Starfighter aims to carve its own path - one that starts far from the palace corridors and Jedi temples, in the grimy corners where survival matters more than destiny.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
