STAR WARS: STARFIGHTER Director Shawn Levy Confirms His Film Is “Neither a Sequel Nor a Prequel to Anything”
Despite the swirl of speculation suggesting Star Wars: Starfighter might tie into The Rise of Skywalker or the New Jedi Order, director Shawn Levy has officially set the record straight saying that his Star Wars movie will stand entirely on its own.
Speaking with Collider, Levy explained that Starfighter will introduce brand-new characters and explore an all-new timeline, separate from everything that’s come before. He explained:
“Well, for one thing, it is different in that it is an all-new non-sequel, non-prequel adventure. It's new characters, it's a new timeline.
“It inherits legacy themes, but it's really trying to give Star Wars [fans] — and just movie audiences — something fresh, something new. And with a spirit of play and big-hearted adventure with moments of real levity that, frankly, A New Hope had in a revolutionary way.”
Levy went on to describe the creative freedom Lucasfilm has given him, saying:
“We're really trying to sort of take that tone as a North Star every day. My crew, my DP, Claudio Miranda, Gosling is my kind of central collaborator in the lead role. It's certainly been a dream come true.
“My 10-year-old self is on set with me every day. In fact, he's going to catch a flight tonight to go back to the set and keep shooting on Monday. But it's a huge invigorating opportunity because Lucasfilm has been so encouraging of me doing something new.
“There's no pressure to be derivative or limited by an obligation to what came before. There's just a love of what came before.”
Though Starfighter won’t directly connect to the Skywalker Saga, the film is said to take place several years after the events of The Rise of Skywalker. In a separate chat with Entertainment Weekly, Levy shared just how surreal the experience has been.
“It is surreal and awesome every day walking onto this set, to have made up a new and original Star Wars story that is neither a sequel nor a prequel to anything.
“I have deep respect and love for this historic legacy, but a chance to do something fresh and original and to do it with Jonathan Tropper, the writer of The Adam Project, and with Gosling. Every day it's hard as hell, but it's dream-come-true territory every day.”
The cast is led by Ryan Gosling alongside Flynn Gray, Matt Smith, Mia Goth, Aaron Pierre, Simon Bird, Jamael Westman, Daniel Ings, and Amy Adams.
Gosling is rumored to play the uncle of Gray’s Force-sensitive teen, who becomes his protector as they’re hunted across the galaxy by a pair of ruthless villains, reportedly played by Goth and possibly Smith. Adams is said to be portraying the teen’s mother.
Levy expressed his passion for the project when filming kicked off earlier this year, saying:
“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.”
With Shawn Levy at the helm, Ryan Gosling in the lead, and the promise of an all-new story unburdened by the past of the franchise, Star Wars: Starfighter sounds like it could be the kind of fresh adventure fans have been waiting for.
Star Wars: Starfighter is set to hit theaters on May 28, 2027.