Tom Cruise Secretly Shot Part of a Lightsaber Duel in Star Wars Starfighter

File this under delightful curveballs: Tom Cruise helped shoot a lightsaber scene for a Star Wars movie he isn’t even in. Yep, cameras are rolling on 'Star Wars: Starfighter', and Cruise briefly stepped behind the lens for a key moment. Not a cameo on screen — he actually operated the camera.

How Tom Cruise ended up soaking wet and shooting Star Wars

Director Shawn Levy told the New York Times that Cruise stopped by the set, and a casual visit turned into a hands-on gig. Levy joked that Cruise should grab a camera. Cruise took him seriously — and then took it further — wading into a pond to get his shot, sacrificing a nice pair of shoes in the process. Also, yes, that scene involved lightsabers.

"Last week Steven Spielberg was here. And now Tom Cruise is wielding a camera, ruining his very nice shoes."

"Now when you see the movie, you’ll know that part of it was shot by Tom. I mean, how cool is that?"

So what is 'Starfighter' actually about?

Levy’s movie is set in a stretch of the Star Wars timeline we haven’t really spent much time in on screen. As the title suggests, it centers on a starfighter pilot played by Ryan Gosling. Between the title and Levy’s anecdote, we now know the film isn’t just about ships and dogfights — it will feature at least one lightsaber duel.

The vibe check: Return of the Jedi energy

Levy has said his biggest touchstone for 'Starfighter' is 'Return of the Jedi'. That movie’s action DNA looms large over Star Wars — think Luke crashing Jabba’s party on the sail barge and the emotionally loaded duel with Darth Vader. If that’s the tonal North Star, expect pulpy adventure with emotional stakes and clean, readable action.

• Filming on 'Star Wars: Starfighter' is well underway.
• Tom Cruise is not in the cast, but he did operate a camera for part of a lightsaber sequence — at one point standing in a pond to get the angle, wrecking his shoes.
• Steven Spielberg also visited set shortly before Cruise’s drop-in.
• The story follows Ryan Gosling as a starfighter pilot in a largely unexplored era of the Star Wars timeline.
• Confirmed: there will be at least one lightsaber duel.
• Shawn Levy cites 'Return of the Jedi' as his key inspiration, calling back to that film’s iconic action beats.
• Release date: May 28, 2027.

Between Cruise’s unexpected behind-the-scenes assist and Levy’s 'Jedi' compass, this one’s shaping up to be a big swing. In the meantime, there are plenty of other Star Wars movies and series in development to tide us over until 2027.