IMAX Boss Says STAR WARS: STARFIGHTER Is a “Throwback to the Harrison Ford Kind of STAR WARS”
The Star Wars franchise could really use a theatrical victory right about now. After years of divisive movies, an extended absence from theaters, and the disappointing box office performance of The Mandalorian and Grogu, Lucasfilm needs something that reminds audiences why seeing Star Wars on a giant screen used to feel like an event.
According to IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond, Star Wars: Starfighter might be the movie that gets the job done. Gelfond has actually visited the set of director Shawn Levy's upcoming Star Wars adventure, which stars Ryan Gosling, and what he saw apparently gave him some serious old-school Star Wars vibes.
Speaking on The Town with Matt Belloni, Gelfond said: "I've been on set of [Star Wars: Starfighter] and that's a throwback to the Harrison Ford kind of Star Wars."
That's certainly an interesting comparison. The Harrison Ford era of Star Wars had a scrappy adventure-movie quality to it, with roguish heroes, dangerous missions, strange corners of the galaxy, and characters who didn't spend every waking moment talking about galactic politics or Jedi mythology.
When Matt Belloni pointed out that The Mandalorian and Grogu tanking at the box office doesn't exactly strengthen the argument that audiences are ready to come running back to Star Wars, Gelfond doubled down on his prediction.
"I'm on a limb on this one. I'll tell you, take it to the bank… I think it's going to be good."
Here’s the thing, The Mandalorian and Grogu was a great movie, and it also had that classic Star Wars throwback adventure vibe, but audiences still didn’t show up to watch it! But maybe since there’s more of a mystery built around Starfighter, people will show up to see what it’s about.
Star Wars finds itself in a weird place theatrically. It's been seven years since The Rise of Skywalker, a movie that left plenty of fans frustrated with how the sequel trilogy wrapped up. That disappointment has hung around, and The Mandalorian and Grogu didn't provide the theatrical comeback Disney was hoping for.
Disney has pointed to the film's success in other areas despite acknowledging that it didn't meet the company's box office expectations, but there's no getting around the larger issue. Star Wars needs a movie that gets people genuinely excited about buying a ticket again.
That's what makes Starfighter such an intriguing project. We still don't know much about the story Levy and company are cooking up, but a recently released synopsis gives us a better idea of where this new adventure is headed:
"In a rebuilding galaxy, a solitary pilot becomes entangled in a crucial mission as new threats emerge. Their journey may alter the future of the Force itself."
A solitary pilot caught up in a dangerous mission during a rebuilding era of the galaxy? Yeah, you can see where some of those Harrison Ford comparisons might start creeping in.
Levy has an interesting opportunity here because Starfighter doesn't appear to be leaning on the Skywalker Saga as its primary selling point. Instead, Gosling's pilot and this mysterious mission could give audiences a fresh entry point into the galaxy while still retaining the adventure, humor, danger, and larger-than-life energy associated with classic Star Wars.
Lucasfilm has announced and developed plenty of Star Wars movie projects over the years that never made it to theaters, while the franchise has increasingly lived on television and streaming. Getting audiences to view Star Wars as a must-see theatrical experience again is going to require more than the logo and a lightsaber.
But Gelfond is confident enough in what he saw to tell people to "take it to the bank." That's a pretty enthusiastic endorsement.
Alongside Gosling, the film stars Flynn Gray, Matt Smith, Mia Goth, and Aaron Pierre. Now the movie has to deliver.
Star Wars: Starfighter arrives in theaters on May 28, 2027, and if Gelfond's instincts are right, this could finally be the big-screen Star Wars win the franchise has been looking for.