Shawn Levy Says Ryan Gosling’s Star Wars Starfighter Was Modeled After This Classic Movie
With cameras rolling on Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: Starfighter, Shawn Levy says the Ryan Gosling-led epic channels one of sci-fi’s all-time titans — and he names the Star Wars classic it most closely mirrors.
Shawn Levy is out there shooting Star Wars: Starfighter right now, and he just said the quiet part out loud: he is aiming for the feel of A New Hope. Not a remake, not a legacy patch job. The tone. Honestly, that alone makes my ears perk up.
So what is Starfighter aiming to be?
In a new chat with Collider while he was promoting the fifth and final season of Stranger Things, Levy said his movie is a clean break from the usual franchise math. No sequel. No prequel. New characters. New timeline. He wants the big-hearted, playful adventure of the 1977 original, with actual moments of levity baked in.
"We are trying to take the tone of A New Hope as a North Star every day."
To be super clear, he is talking about vibe, not plot checkpoints. A New Hope was the movie that blew the doors off in 1977, introduced Luke, Vader, and Han, and then topped the box office for five years until E.T. showed up. Levy is basically saying: remember when this franchise felt light on its feet and fun? That.
Fresh canvas, on purpose
Levy also said Lucasfilm has been pushing him to do his own thing, not stitch together a greatest-hits medley. His words boiled down to: there is love for what came before, but zero pressure to mimic it. Which, yes, is a relief.
What the story is (reportedly) about
Details are still under wraps, but the logline making the rounds is simple: an uncle trying to protect his nephew from some very bad people. That setup suggests a focused, character-first chase inside a galaxy that tends to sprawl.
Who is in this thing and when do we see it?
Lucasfilm officially unveiled Star Wars: Starfighter at Star Wars Celebration Japan 2025. Filming is underway, and the release is locked for May 28, 2027.
- Lead: Ryan Gosling
- Cast: Flynn Gray, Matt Smith, Mia Goth, Aaron Pierre, Simon Bird, Jamael Westman, Daniel Ings, Amy Adams
- Director: Shawn Levy
- Writer: Jonathan Tropper (reuniting with Levy after 2022's The Adam Project)
- Premise (reported): An uncle protects his nephew from dangerous pursuers
- Status: Filming
- Release: May 28, 2027
If Starfighter really sticks the A New Hope tone without getting chained to it, that is a tricky needle to thread. But if anyone can make a glossy crowd-pleaser with an actual pulse, it is the guy who made Stranger Things fun and The Adam Project move like a rocket.