Eva Mendes Reportedly Joins Shawn Levy's STAR WARS: STARFIGHTER
Star Wars: Starfighter only just started filming this week, and the cast list keeps getting more interesting. Following the news that Amy Adams has joined as the sister of Ryan Gosling’s character and the mother of Flynn Gray’s young lead, another familiar name has surfaced.
According to insider Daniel Richtman, Eva Mendes has been tapped to play the wife of Gosling’s character. If true, it would be a rare on-screen pairing for the real-life couple.
Mendes has largely stepped away from acting since starting a family with Gosling, making her appearance here a standout return. Her last feature film was Lost River in 2014, following The Place Beyond the Pines in 2012. She’s only had minor credits since then, including a voice role as a yoga instructor in the animated series Bluey back in 2021.
At this point, it’s hard to imagine Mendes being a major player in the film. A cameo feels far more likely, which could explain why her involvement hasn’t been officially confirmed by Lucasfilm. Still, the idea of her stepping into the Star Wars franchise at all is a surprise fans probably didn’t see coming.
It was also recently reported that Oscar-winning cinematographer Claudio Miranda will serve as director of photography. His résumé includes visually stunning projects like Top Gun: Maverick, TRON: Legacy, Life of Pi, Tomorrowland, and F1. With Shawn Levy directing, the visuals are already shaping up to be a major draw.
Story details are still scarce. Rumors suggest Star Wars: Starfighter takes place after The Rise of Skywalker, centering on Gosling as a Jedi who trains his nephew as a Padawan.
Officially, all Lucasfilm has confirmed is that this will be “an all-new standalone adventure” and “an entirely original story set in a period of time never before explored in Star Wars.”
Levy shared his excitement as filming kicked off: “I feel a profound sense of excitement and honor as we begin production on Star Wars: Starfighter.
“From the day Kathy Kennedy called me up, inviting me to develop an original adventure in this incredible Star Wars galaxy, this experience has been a dream come true, creatively and personally.”
He added: “Star Wars shaped my sense of what story can do, how characters and cinematic moments can live with us forever. To join this storytelling galaxy with such brilliant collaborators onscreen and off, is the thrill of a lifetime.”
Alongside Gosling the movie stars Matt Smith (House of the Dragon), Mia Goth (Infinity Pool), Aaron Pierre (Lanterns), Simon Bird (The Inbetweeners), Jamael Westman (Hedda), Amy Adams (Arrival), and Daniel Ings (Lovesick).
Levy is producing with Kathleen Kennedy, with Gosling also serving as an executive producer alongside Dan Levine, Mary McLaglen, and Josh McLaglen. The script comes from Jonathan Tropper.
Star Wars: Starfighter is scheduled to hit theaters on May 28, 2027.