The more information that surfaces about the number of upcoming Star Wars films, the more it sounds like Lucasfilm wants to move away from using any pre-existing characters.
Case in point, Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum, Deadpool & Wolverine), recently revealed that during the development of Star Wars: Starfighter, his upcoming Star Wars film set just 5 years after the events of The Rise of Skywalker, he met with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and pointed out that it might make sense to use some pre-existing characters.
Levy, appearing on a podcast from The Playlist, stated that he was surprised by Kennedy's response, which was, "Every time I’ve asked, ‘Should I use this character that was maybe in that movie?’ Every time it’s, ‘You know what? People have seen that. Do something new.’"
"There is no mandate or interference other than the constant encouragement, ‘Make this new.’ And that’s the truth."
"Unlike ‘Solo’… unlike ‘Rise of Skywalker,’ which was a sequel to two other movies and ultimately a ninth film in the Skywalker saga, ‘Starfighter’ is all new characters based on new ideas that Jonathan and I cooked up alone and together."
Levy's Starfighter script was written by Jonathan Tropper (Banshee, Warrior).
The Adam Project director also reflected on the very beginning of when he was first approached to tackle the project and the message he received.
"[Kathleen Kennedy] said, ‘I want you to do a ‘Star Wars’ movie.’ And I said, ‘Well, what’s it a prequel to? What’s it a sequel to? Which one is it?’ The answer was, ‘It’s whatever you want it to be. You pick the writer, you pick the story, just imbue it with the feeling that your movies have.'"
Star Wars: Starfighter features a cast that includes Ryan Gosling, Flynn Gray, Matt Smith, Mia Goth, Aaron Pierre, Simon Bird, Jamael Westman, Daniel Ings, and Amy Adams.
Levy directs from a script penned by Trooper. Filming commenced on August 28, 2025, and the film has a current release date of May 28, 2027.
Gosling is said to be portraying a former X-wing pilot who must protect his Force-sensitive nephew when he becomes the target of dark side users/remnants of The First Order. The film is said to be a chase/adventure-style story with Gosling racing to get his nephew to Rey's new Jedi Order Academy while being pursued by powerful forces.