Shawn Levy Explains Why Ryan Gosling Is the Right Star to Lead STAR WARS: STARFIGHTER
Ryan Gosling is heading to a galaxy far, far away, and Shawn Levy has a pretty straightforward explanation for why he wanted the actor leading Star Wars: Starfighter, and it’s because Gosling can basically do everything the movie needs him to do.
The upcoming standalone Star Wars film is set five years after the events of The Rise of Skywalker and will introduce Gosling as Kade Auberon, a new character described as “a guy from the wrong side of the galaxy.”
Somehow, Kade becomes connected to the fastest starfighter in the galaxy, though the specifics of how that happens are still being kept under wraps.
During D23, Levy and Gosling shared some new details about Starfighter and showed off footage from the film. Levy later spoke with Fandango about why Gosling was the perfect choice to carry the movie, and his answer pretty much covered the actor’s entire résumé:
“Well, I feel like why is Ryan Gosling the perfect actor for every movie? Let's do a drama. Ryan Gosling. Let's do a comedy. Ryan Gosling. Let's do a romance. Ryan Gosling. Let's do action. Ryan Gosling…. Starfighter is all of those things.
“There is romance and humor and drama and huge action adventure and there's just very few actors who have the depth and the authenticity to be believable and real in every moment but are also sort of gloriously entertaining and funny and charming. And I just think this guy is incredible, and this collaboration has really become an incredible sort of brotherhood.”
Levy is laying on the praise pretty thick, but it’s also hard to argue with him. Gosling has bounced between wildly different kinds of characters throughout his career.
He’s played a drug-addicted school teacher, a bizarre private eye, a stuntman, and, of course, Ken in Barbie. He can play serious drama, broad comedy, romance, and action without feeling like he’s simply doing another version of the same character.
That range will be useful for Starfighter. According to Levy, the movie is filled with romance, humor, drama, and adventure, which gives Gosling plenty to work with
Then there’s the Gosling cool factor. Levy apparently has no idea how the actor makes it look so effortless, and he’s even tried to figure out the secret himself:
“Sometimes I'm like, ‘Can you teach me how to be cool? Like, why are you so cool?’ …. I have to work so hard to be cool. He’s got this kind of, like — he lets the game come to him. You know what I’m saying? It’s laid back, chill cool. I tried it, it doesn’t work. But, for him, it works.”
Gosling does have that natural screen presence. He was already looking the part at D23, where he appeared wearing a Starfighter jacket featuring a twisted version of the Rebel Alliance symbol designed to resemble a skull and crossbones.
Even the name Kade Auberon has sparked speculation among Star Wars fans, with some wondering if there might be a connection to Cade Skywalker from the old Legends continuity. There’s currently nothing confirming that theory, though, and Starfighter is introducing an original story rather than continuing the Skywalker saga.
Levy has also revealed that The Outsiders served as one of the inspirations for Starfighter, which makes this whole thing even more interesting. There’s still a lot we don’t know about Kade, the story, or exactly what kind of trouble sends him racing across the galaxy.
What we do know is that Levy clearly built this movie with Gosling’s versatility in mind. Now we just need to see what kind of Star Wars hero Kade Auberon turns out to be.
Star Wars: Starfighter is set to hit theaters on May 28, 2027.