I don’t know about you, but it feels like The Force is particularly strong with the next upcoming Star Wars movie, Starfighter. I say this because it feels like it has the power to change the tides for theatrical Star Wars films if it does well. And its writer just said something about it that’s making me feel like I’m listening to one of John Williams’ wonderful Star Wars scores.
Starfighter was written by Jonathan Tropper, who made The Adam Project with Shawn Levy, along with recent Apple TV hits like Your Friends & Neighbors and Lucky. Here’s what he just said about making his Star Wars movie:
What we wanted to do was to tell a story that was free of (Star Wars) mythology. We were out ahead in the timeline, and we wanted something with as few barriers of entry as possible for new fans and viewers. This isn’t a Skywalker saga movie … we’re not dealing with the history of the Rebellion, the First Order, the Resistance or the Empire, we’re kind of beyond all that. It’s a simpler movie.
Praise the movie gods, we’re finally getting a Star Wars movie without any Skywalker connections! Look, of course I love all that mythology, and my ears instinctively perked up when I heard the theories about Ryan Gosling’s character being a Skywalker. But I’ve been wanting to see a Star Wars movie for a long time without much or any story connections to the originals, prequels or sequels. I just want to see a filmmaker do their own thing within the universe!
Shawn Levy has previously said Starfighter would be “standalone,” but there’s just something about also getting this information from the person who actually wrote it. The writer’s words to Deadline have me more optimistic for the upcoming movie, but there’s also a sense of mystery and danger to it. What does an original Star Wars movie look like?
From what we know, Gosling will play the role of Kade Auberon, who just happens to have the fastest starship in the galaxy, a G17 Imperial Reaper, in his garage. During D23, fans got to see a peek at the movie and a look at a very cool jacket Kade wears in the film.
Plot details regarding Kade’s origins and the past that led him to have the ship in his hands are being kept hidden, but we know he’ll be going on a big adventure with a teenage character played by Flynn Gray. Also among the cast are Matt Smith, Mia Goth, Aaron Pierre, Simon Bird, Jamael Westman, Daniel Ings and Amy Adams.
The franchise will officially be 50 years old when Starfighter comes out on May 28 on the 2027 movie schedule. I don’t expect to feel the way it must have felt to see the franchise for the first time, but I hope there’s something about it that gives the franchise some sheen to it that I’ve been missing.
