Star Wars is entering a new era. While TV shows like Skeleton Crew and Ahsoka find gaps in the existing timeline, the movies are pushing ever forward, like in the upcoming New Jedi Order, or ever backward, like in James Mangold’s Dawn of the Jedi. But a new addition to the Star Wars film roster, Shawn Levy’s Star Wars: Starfighter, is actually shaping up to provide an interesting bridge between the old and new era.
Our first description of what the movie will depict suggests it won’t just be a one-off adventure — it may actually set up Rey Skywalker’s return to the big screen.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Mia Goth has been cast in a villainous role in the upcoming Star Wars: Starfighter, which stars Ryan Gosling in the lead role. Goth is taking the role Mikey Madison reportedly turned down. This new casting announcement comes alongside our first description about what this movie might actually be about. The report couldn’t say much, but did reveal “it does involve Gosling playing a character that must protect a young charge against evil pursuers.” Known Hollywood leaker Jeff Sneider went one step further, claiming this “young charge” is actually Gosling’s character’s nephew.
This movie sounds a lot different from the pilot-focused story fans were speculating about after the title was announced. It also sounds like Gosling won’t be playing a Jedi, as some fans thought was a lock due to a lightsaber hum playing at the end of the title reveal. But if these pursuers are after this young character, it seems pretty obvious that he’s the Force-sensitive one of the two.
This plot is nothing new for Star Wars. “Protecting/escorting young, powerful character(s)” describes the plot of every season of The Mandalorian, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Skeleton Crew, and, arguably, The Phantom Menace. If anything, it’s a tired format for the franchise.
While Levy attested Starfighter would be a standalone adventure, not a spinoff, sequel, or prequel of anything, this plot description seems to confirm it will at least somewhat set up Rey’s upcoming movie New Jedi Order. Starfighter is set after the sequel trilogy: if you have a Force-sensitive child being delivered somewhere, it’s most likely going to be wherever the next Jedi Order is being established.
If this is truly the plot of Starfighter, it has quite the task ahead of it — it must find a way to differentiate itself from the other projects with similar plots and find a way to balance being a standalone movie and setting up the new future of the franchise. Hopefully, Shawn Levy is prepared to thread that needle.
