‘Star Wars: Starfighter’ Footage: Ryan Gosling Races Through the Galaxy With Young Sidekick — SkimNews
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- "Star Wars: Starfighter" previewed its first footage at Disney's D23 fan event, with a confirmed theatrical release date of May 28, 2027.
- Ryan Gosling stars as pilot Kade Auberon opposite young actor Flynn Gray, in a fully standalone story set five years after 2019's "The Rise of Skywalker."
- Shawn Levy ("Deadpool & Wolverine") directs from a Jonathan Tropper script, noting onstage that the release falls on the exact same weekend the original "Star Wars" premiered 50 years earlier.
- The teaser shows Gosling's character discovering a decommissioned starfighter, tuning it up, and flying through alien landscapes featuring skyscraper-sized ocean geysers and droids firing at the ship.
- The ensemble cast includes Matt Smith, Mia Goth, Aaron Pierre, Simon Bird, Jamael Westman, Daniel Ings, and Amy Adams, with the crew filming in Sardinia, Italy for a look distinct from past "Star Wars" locations like Tatooine or Hoth.
- "Starfighter" is the first theatrical "Star Wars" film since "The Rise of Skywalker," following years of streaming-only content like "The Mandalorian," "Andor," and "Ahsoka" on Disney+.
Why it matters: After eight years of Disney+ streaming shows carrying the franchise, "Starfighter" is the first real theatrical test of whether Star Wars can draw audiences back to cinemas — and Disney deliberately timed the May 2027 release to the original film's 50th anniversary for maximum cultural resonance.
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