There are major movie franchises, and then there's Star Wars. Generations are brought up on the galaxy far, far away, which is currently streaming with a Disney+ subscription. There are some exciting upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows coming up, including Shawn Levy's standalone movie Starfighter. But could it end up getting a sequel? Lucasfilm's Kathleen Kennedy offered her perspective on that possibility.
Back in August, we got our first look at Ryan Gosling in Starfighter, and Star Wars fans are curious about any information about what director Shawn Levy has up his sleeve. While Starfighter was billed as a standalone film, there are still questions about whether or not it could grow into a full franchise. In a conversation with Deadline about all things Star Wars, Kennedy addressed this, saying:
We could, but this was designed as a real stand-alone. We have the Mandalorian movie with Jon Favreau coming next, which also was great and a completely different Star Wars movie. That comes out in May.
It looks like we're finally going back to standalone Star Wars movies. While Lucasfilm experimented with this concept via Rogue One and Solo, the latter's box office bomb seemed to have discouraged the studio. But with the Skywalker Saga in the rear view, it sounds like now is the time to bring these types of projects back to theaters with both Starfighter and The Mandalorian and Grogu.
Later in the same interview, Kathleen Kennedy went on to double down on Starfighter remaining a standalone film, rather than kickstarting a new Star Wars franchise. In her words:
With Shawn’s movie, this could go on, but it’s not our intention right now. We really made the movie as a standalone story. But you cannot ignore the fact that this young actor is so good. I will be very surprised if he doesn’t go on and we don’t try to see if there might be future stories. But it was kind of nice not going into this and not having to think that way. We could just make a movie and tell a story.
In these comments, Kennedy is referencing Ryan Gosling's young co-star Flynn Gray, whom she speaks highly of and thinks will be a big star one day. It should be interesting to see their chemistry in Starfighter, as well as how they interact with established actors like Amy Adams, Mia Goth, and Matt Smith.
It's a wild time for the Star Wars franchise as a whole, which has been missing from theaters since we saw The Rise of Skywalker's ending. While the universe has continued to expand on the small screen, fans are eager for it to finally return to theaters.
Star Wars: Starfighter is currently expected to arrive in theaters on May 28th, 2027. Since it's not on the 2026 movie release list, we might have to be patient before seeing any footage from the blockbuster.
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