Shawn Levy reveals ‘Star Wars: Starfighter’ is franchise’s first standalone film: “A huge invigorating opportunity”
Shawn Levy has revealed that his upcoming film Star Wars: Starfighter is the first standalone film in the history of the Star Wars franchise, describing it as “a huge invigorating opportunity.”
The director was speaking in a new interview with Collider, where he revealed some more details on the nature of the film, which Ryan Gosling was previously announced to be leading. To this end, Levy announced that the blockbuster would offer a new lens on the franchise.
“Well, for one thing, it is different in that it is an all-new non-sequel, non-prequel adventure,” he said. “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.”
On top of this, he noted that the film is bound with a “spirit of play and big-hearted adventure with moments of real levity that, frankly, A New Hope had in a revolutionary way.”
While being cautious not to reveal any further details on the plot or characters of Star Wars: Starfighter, the filmmaker went on to explain how has been able to unleash his own creative freedom on the iconic sci-fi series. “It’s a huge invigorating opportunity because Lucasfilm has been so encouraging of me doing something new,” he enthused. “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.”
Alongside Gosling in the so-far unspecified lead role, the main casting for the film has been revealed to include Matt Smith, Amy Adams, Mia Goth, Simon Bird, Aaron Pierre, Flynn Grey, and Daniel Ings.
With the movie not scheduled to be released until 2027, Levy is, for now, also focusing on the release of the fifth and final series of the Netflix smash hit Stranger Things, which he directed. The first half of the series is set to be released on the streaming platform on November 26th.
Meanwhile, Star Wars: Starfighter is slated for release on May 28th, 2027.
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