STAR WARS: STARFIGHTER: New Story Details Revealed, and Five Big Stars Who Turned Down Roles
Shawn Levy's Star Wars: Starfighter is officially taking off, and while the project finally has a script, a title and a release date, it’s apparently having a tough time locking down some major roles.
Announced during Star Wars Celebration , Levy’s entry into the galaxy far, far away is set to hit theaters on May 28, 2027, with Ryan Gosling leading the charge, and we also have some story details. During the event, Gosling hyped the film, saying:
“The reality is that this script is just so good. It has such a great story with great and original characters. It’s filled with so much heart and adventure, and there just really is not a more perfect filmmaker for this particular story than Shawn.”
Levy added:
“This is a standalone. It’s not a prequel, not sequel. It’s a new adventure. It’s set in a period of time that we haven’t seen explored yet.”
According to insider Daniel Richtman, the story revolves around a "a 15-year-old boy on a mission with his uncle, played by Ryan Gosling. They're being pursued by a duo of villains—one male, one female.”
It’s also expalined that “Jesse Plemons and Jodie Comer were initially offered the villain roles but both declined. Mikey Madison was later approached for the female villain but also passed.
“Another key role is the boy’s mother (possibly Gosling’s sister or sister-in-law, though it's unclear). Sarah Snook was offered the part but turned it down. Greta Lee was considered for another female role as a cantina owner the leads encounter on their mission, but she too declined."
Int’s interesting that many of these actors are turning down the opportunity to star in a Star Wars movie. Now, there could be scheduling issues, or these actors just have no desire to jump in and play in the Star Wars sandbox.
The film is reportedly being developed with a “significantly smaller budget” than the typical Disney-era Star Wars films. It's being described as a “more contained” story, something character-driven, which would be great.
Levy has been co-writing the film with Jonathan Tropper (The Adam Project, This Is Where I Leave You) since 2022, with production under Levy’s 21 Laps banner and Lucasfilm.
And despite the casting setbacks, Disney and Lucasfilm is fully onboard with Levy. Following the massive buzz around Deadpool & Wolverine, he's reportedly considered a “must-have, must-keep” talent. That likely means more creative freedom than your average Star Wars filmmaker.
As Levy explained last year: “I’ll say that the experience of crafting this story has forced me to think about that question. Because there's only so many times that Star Wars movies can revisit the same section of the timeline, and so it's really forced me—because I don't want to do a Star Wars movie that is redundant to others, nor am I interested in doing one that has to serve another movie.”
“I really wanted to craft something that felt organic to me, both in tone and characters, so I think that there is certainly the Force and a connection to something bigger than our individual selves. And the way that that can make us powerful, those themes, combined with visual delight and wish fulfilment, that's Star Wars to me.”
Starfighter joins a stacked lineup of upcoming Star Wars films, including Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s New Jedi Order film, James Mangold’s ancient Jedi origin story, and Dave Filoni’s Mandoverse crossover epic.