The Next ‘Star Wars’ Film Has Its Official Title

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It’s official: Ryan Gosling is headed to the galaxy far, far away.

This week at the Star Wars Celebration event in Japan, Ryan Gosling and director Shawn Levy made an official announcement about their upcoming Star Wars movie, which is anticipated to be one of only two movies released in theaters over the past eight years.

Title for the film: “Star Wars: Starfighter”

A recent announcement on StarWars.com reveals that this upcoming movie is “set around five years after the occurrences depicted in ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.'” Furthermore, it was disclosed that Ryan Gosling will be portraying an entirely new character hinted at by his stage appearance at Star Wars Celebration.

The production for “Star Wars: Starfighter” will kick off this autumn. According to latest news, Levy and Gosling were keen on having recent Academy Award winner, Mickie Madison, for their movie, but it’s said that she declined the offer.

Previously, a video game named “Star Wars: Starfighter” was released in 2001, available on PlayStation 2 and Xbox. This game allowed players to pilot various spaceships during missions related to the events of the Star Wars prequels. (It’s worth noting that this game is likely to be distinct from the movie due to its timeline.)

The space combat game, “Star Wars: Starfighter”, is set to debut in cinemas on May 28, 2027. This is approximately one year following the release of “The Mandalorian & Grogu” (scheduled for May 22, 2026), and mere weeks after “Avengers: Secret Wars” which is due out on May 7, 2027. If these dates remain unchanged, it promises to be quite an exciting week at the movies.

20 Actors You Forgot Were in Star Wars

Michael Biehn

Michael Biehn, a renowned figure in science fiction, is recognized for his tough characters in James Cameron’s movies “The Terminator” and “Aliens”. He made an appearance in Season 2 of “The Mandalorian”, portraying Lang, a rough-around-the-edges mercenary who serves as muscle for Morgan Elsbeth in the Star Wars universe. During his tenure, he interacts with and ultimately meets his demise (caution: spoiler) at the hands of the Mandalorian. Such is often the fate for television guest stars.

Jack Black (and Lizzo!)

In an unexpected turn of events, some of the most unconventional appearances in the Star Wars universe occurred in Chapter 22 of The Mandalorian when Mando and his team found themselves on Plazir-15, a planet governed by none other than Jack Black and Lizzo. Whether you consider it an unusual choice or not, they certainly embodied the roles of quirky cosmic rulers convincingly.

Rose Byrne

Prior to her notable roles in the films “Insidious” and “Bridesmaids”, Rose Byrne, who was then not yet a celebrity, appeared as one of Senator Amidala’s unnamed handmaidens in an early scene from “Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones”. She certainly looked excited to be part of it.

Jodie Comer

In the quick glimpse of Rey’s painful past in “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” some viewers may have recognized Jodie Comer from “Killing Eve.” It turns out that Rey’s mother is none other than Miramir, a character played by Comer. Despite his status as the heir to the galaxy’s most notorious evil, Emperor Palpatine, Dathan (Rey’s father) was still married to Miramir. Talk about having questionable taste in partners!

In the brief flashback of Rey’s troubled childhood in “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” keen-eyed viewers might have noticed Jodie Comer from “Killing Eve.” As it happens, Miramir, a character portrayed by Comer, was Dathan (Rey’s father)’s spouse. Despite being the heir to the galaxy’s most wicked power, Emperor Palpatine, it seems that Dathan still chose Miramir as his partner. What a curious choice of companions!

Jon Favreau

In the galaxy of Star Wars, Jon Favreau is recognized not only as the creator of The Mandalorian series but also as the voice actor for one of its characters, Pre Vizsla. However, these aren’t his only roles in the Star Wars universe. A year before the debut of The Mandalorian, Favreau provided the voice for Rio, an alien who was part of Tobias Beckett’s crew. Unfortunately, Rio didn’t fare well, but things have certainly turned out well for Favreau, who is now penning and directing the movie featuring The Mandalorian and Grogu.

Sarah Michelle Gellar

A significant number of well-known actors have made appearances in the animated Star Wars series as well. Those who only watch live-action might not be aware that Sarah Michelle Gellar, famously known for her role as Buffy, lent her voice to the villainous Seventh Sister during the second season of Star Wars Rebels. In total, she featured in six episodes and delivered an impressive performance, particularly as the Inquisitor. (Give some of her clips a listen, she portrays the character quite well.)

Keira Knightley

To avoid giving away a 25-year-old movie’s surprise, let me clarify that in “The Phantom Menace,” Queen Amidala often conceals her identity by having handmaidens who resemble her closely. Among these handmaidens is Padmé, who spends considerable time with the Jedi and young Anakin Skywalker without them suspecting she’s actually Amidala. It’s intriguing to note that while Amidala is masquerading as Padmé, another handmaiden poses as Queen Amidala, portrayed by a young Keira Knightley before her “Pirates of the Caribbean” days. At that age, it’s hard not to notice the similarities between them.

John Leguizamo

You won’t have to worry if you didn’t recognize John Leguizamo in “The Marshal” episode of The Mandalorian during its second season. His character, Gor Koresh, was an alien with a combover, potbelly, green skin, and a single eye, making it difficult to identify him as the actor we know.

Christopher Lloyd

Wow, look at that! It’s Christopher Lloyd who made an appearance on The Mandalorian in Season 3, Episode 6 titled “Guns For Hire.” He portrayed Commissioner Helgait, the security chief on Plazir-15, a planet governed by the well-known duo Lizzo and Jack Black. Mando and his team uncovered Helgait’s devious plan and brought peace back to the planet. What an action-packed week it was on The Mandalorian, isn’t it?

Tim Meadows

In the third season of “The Mandalorian,” the cameos became quite extraordinary! In the episode titled “The Pirate,” we had a guest appearance by Tim Meadows, a veteran from “Saturday Night Live,” portraying Colonel Tuttle. He was part of the New Republic and expressed doubts about X-wing pilot Carson Teva’s theories that the Empire might be planning a resurgence following the events in “Return of the Jedi.” It seems preposterous! Could Palpatine ever return, somehow? Absolutely not, isn’t it?

Lin-Manuel Miranda

Lin-Manuel Miranda, famously known for “In the Heights” and “Hamilton”, initially lent his talents to the Star Wars universe by composing a song for Maz Kanata’s cantina in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”. As a token of appreciation, he was granted a brief appearance in “The Rise of Skywalker”. During the Resistance celebration following the final battle, you can find him in the scene where Rose Tico warmly greets Chewbacca; he’s tucked away in that specific shot.

Simon Pegg

Without viewing additional footage from the set, you might not know that the junk dealer who exchanges rations with Rey, Unkar Plutt, was portrayed by Simon Pegg, famous for “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz”. Pegg also proposed an extra scene for his character, which was filmed but later cut. In this scene, Plutt confronted Rey for taking the Millennium Falcon, and Chewbacca intervened – tearing off one of Plutt’s arms! That’s roughly a fourth of his body!!

Stephen Root

In episode 3 of “The Book of Boba Fett”, titled “The Streets of Mos Espa”, Boba Fett crossed paths with a water vendor named Lortha Peel. This individual was in trouble due to a gang continuously pilfering his stock. Peel sought Fett’s assistance to eliminate the gang; however, instead of taking violent action, Fett provided them jobs as an alternative and then held Peel accountable for his excessive pricing. Stephen Root, a popular actor from TV shows like “NewsRadio” and movies such as “Dodgeball”, “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”, and “Office Space”, portrayed the character of Lortha Peel. It’s possible that if Peel had presented Boba Fett with his signature red stapler in tribute, he might have agreed to help him deal with those troublesome gangsters.

George Takei

George Takei, well-known for his role as Lieutenant (later Captain) Sulu in numerous episodes of “Star Trek” and all six original cast films from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, is synonymous with the “Star Trek” universe. While there’s usually not much overlap between “Trek” and “Star Wars”, Takei lent his distinctive voice to an episode of “Star Wars: The Clone Wars”, playing an alien general named Lok Durd. Wow, isn’t that something!

Sophie Thatcher

The gang members that Stephen Root aimed to eliminate in “The Book of Boba Fett”? One of these gang members is portrayed by Sophie Thatcher, who is well-known for her roles in “Yellowjackets” and the recent horror films “Heretic” and “Companion”. It would have added an extra layer of excitement if she had played a character like Black Krrsantan or another memorable role instead.

Justin Theroux

In “The Last Jedi,” the Resistance later joins forces with a cunning codebreaker portrayed by Benicio del Toro. However, their initial focus is on a man dressed stylishly in white and sporting a stripe resembling a skunk’s, played by Justin Theroux from “The Leftovers.” Before they could enlist him for their mission, Rose and Finn were apprehended, leaving the character nameless. On Wookiepedia, he is referred to as “Master Codebreaker,” and it is said that Theroux was cast for the role just a day before filming.

Danny Trejo

As a passionate cinephile, I’ve just wrapped up an exciting episode of “The Book of Boba Fett” where Stephen Root and Sophie Thatcher grace our screens. The climax arrives when Boba Fett triumphs over a pair of Hutt twins, who bestow upon him a rancor as a token to win his favor. Interestingly, this fearsome creature is tended by none other than the legendary Danny Trejo, known for his tough-guy roles in movies like “Heat”, “xXx”, and numerous films directed by Robert Rodriguez. Can you guess who was behind the camera for this episode of “Boba Fett”? Indeed, it was Robert Rodriguez himself!

Titus Welliver

Titus Welliver has appeared in shows like “Lost” and “Sons of Anarchy”, but he’s particularly recognized for his leading roles in the detective series “Bosch” and its spin-off “Bosch: Legacy”. In a notable turn, he joined the cast of “Star Wars” during the third season of “The Mandalorian”, appearing as an Imperial Captain (let’s just imagine him as Captain B’Osch) in the episode titled “The Heiress”, who was allied with the antagonist Moff Gideon.

Dominic West

Before you recognized him as Detective Jimmy McNulty from “The Wire”, Dominic West made a cameo appearance as a minor character named Jerus Jannick in “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace”. In the film, he can be seen among the guards at Amidala’s palace, particularly during the initial scene where Anakin visits Padmé. It’s none other than McNutty who is briefly held back by a guard outside her door!

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2025-04-18 05:24