Overview
- At D23 on Saturday, Disney and Lucasfilm screened the first footage for Star Wars: Starfighter to the live audience, confirmed Ryan Gosling’s character name as Kade Auberon, and announced a May 28, 2027 theatrical release.
- The closed-door sizzle opens with a young actor uncovering a covered starfighter that Gosling’s Kade calls a decommissioned G17 and labels “the fastest starfighter ever built,” followed by fast-paced montage shots and practical, weathered visuals.
- Shawn Levy directs the standalone, post-Episode IX story from a Jonathan Tropper script with Oscar-winning cinematographer Claudio Miranda on board and a supporting cast that includes Matt Smith, Mia Goth, Aaron Pierre, Simon Bird, Jamael Westman, Daniel Ings and Amy Adams.
- Lucasfilm kept the footage off the public internet, showing it only in the room and issuing takedowns after brief attendee leaks, a move that signals a tightly controlled marketing rollout.
- Timed to the original film’s 50th-anniversary weekend, the release heightens expectations for a theatrical rebound after earlier 2026 underperformance and could shape how Lucasfilm balances future big‑screen projects with its streaming slate.