Mark Hamill Sounds Off as Ryan Gosling Pilots Star Wars' Next Movie Starfighter
Luke Skywalker is passing the torch: Mark Hamill just gave a gracious, witty seal of approval to Ryan Gosling blasting into the galaxy far, far away with Starfighter, telling People he’s been a fan and can’t wait to watch him take flight.
Mark Hamill weighed in on Ryan Gosling joining Star Wars, and it is exactly the gracious, slightly cheeky blessing you want from Luke Skywalker himself. He is into it. And yes, the part that made him a Gosling superfan is kind of hilarious.
Hamill on Gosling: the endorsement you did not see coming
Speaking about Gosling and the upcoming Star Wars: Starfighter, Hamill said he has been a fan for a while, but the thing that really pushed him over the edge was Gosling’s live-action Beavis bit on Saturday Night Live. That is the clip that took over the internet for a reason, and Hamill clearly noticed. He basically crowned Gosling’s Beavis the gold standard.
As for offering wisdom to the next wave of Star Wars leads, Hamill is not playing elder statesman. If anything, he flipped the script.
'No, none of those people need advice from me. They're doing so well. I've had my time. I'm going to ask for advice from them.'
That is classic Hamill: decades deep in this galaxy, survived the Lucasfilm-to-Disney handoff, and still deflecting credit while hyping the new guard. It is a very healthy pass-the-torch vibe.
So... can Gosling carry a Star Wars movie?
Short answer: he has the range. The guy can do dreamy, deadpan, chaotic, or quietly broken, and that flexibility tends to translate well in big franchise worlds. A brand-new character in Star Wars is a tightrope, though. You are not just acting; you are building an icon from scratch, and this franchise already has a lot of those. If the creative team lands a clear, clean vision, Gosling has the chops to run with it.
- Drive (2011) — Driver — 93% critics | 79% audience
- La La Land (2016) — Sebastian — 91% critics | 82% audience
- Half Nelson (2006) — Dan Dunne — 91% critics | 82% audience
- The Nice Guys (2016) — Holland March — 91% critics | 79% audience
- Barbie (2023) — Ken — 88% critics | 83% audience
The bottom line (and the date)
Hamill is not gatekeeping the franchise; he is basically rolling out the welcome mat for Gosling and anyone else bold enough to jump in. And the fact that his favorite Gosling moment is an SNL Beavis gag? That is delightfully unexpected, but it tracks with how Hamill spots talent in odd corners and roots for it.
Star Wars: Starfighter is currently set to hit theaters on May 28, 2027 in the U.S.