Even though the Star Wars franchise accounts for some of the most popular movies of all time, it's been a while since the Walt Disney-owned universe had a big blockbuster hit. However, the next upcoming Star Wars movie is the Ryan Gosling-led Starfighter, and it could be the hit it's been looking for, as one staggering number reveals how much the House of Mouse is betting on it. (Hint: It’s a lot.)
Star Wars: Starfighter is on the 2027 movie schedule, and it will kick off the summer season on May 28. The movie cost the studio $226.5 million after production concluded filming back in December. However, that doesn’t yet account for the additional post-production work currently being done, such as the London visual effects unit.
That number comes from Forbes, and its report says Starfighter exceeds how much Star Wars: The Force Awakens cost during the same period of its production. And keep in mind that’s the second most expensive movie ever made next to Jurassic World: Dominion, per Fortune. The Force Awakens reportedly cost $638.9 million when all was said and done.
Though, because Starfighter was mainly filmed in the U.K., it’s eligible for a refund of $51.5 million from the U.K. government. That brings down current net spending to $175 million. We won’t know the final production costs of the new Star Wars movie for a while, but considering it's trending over The Force Awakens, Disney is certainly putting the big bucks in for this one.
The last Star Wars movie, The Mandalorian and Grogu, made just a meager $345.6 million worldwide – though its production budget was reportedly around $165 million, making it the lowest-budget Star Wars flick.
The Walt Disney Company is showing a lot of confidence in the next one. According to insiders, the Shawn Levy-directed film has inspired a lot of confidence from Lucasfilm for recapturing “the franchise’s spirit of fun”. Whereas perhaps the disinterest in The Mandalorian and Grogu is because it didn't appeal to casual fans of the franchise.
With Starfighter’s production budget in mind, it’s clear that The Walt Disney Company is looking to make Star Wars’ first massive blockbuster in years. Like, we’re talking about this needing to be a billion-dollar hit to the tune of recent 2026 movies like Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Toy Story 5.
So, can Starfighter meet those expectations? At this point, there’s not enough out there to get excited about aside from its incredible cast, including Gosling, Amy Adams, Matt Smith and Mia Goth, and Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy behind the camera. There was some footage shown at D23, but not enough to talk about.
We also know that Starfighter was designed as a standalone movie that won’t be connected to the Skywalker Saga. Also, Levy said The Outsiders book and movie “weirdly” influenced the film while he and Gosling were crafting the script. Once the first trailer comes out, we'll have a better gauge on what all that means.
Star Wars: Starfighter is set to come out on May 28 against a summer including Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, Shrek 5, Man of Tomorrow, the sequel to A Minecraft Movie and A Quiet Place Part III. We’ll have to wait and see if its price tag can match audience turnout.
