Ryan Gosling at a Los Angeles premiere in 2025
By
Guy Howie
Published 24 minutes ago
After joining ScreenRant in January 2025, Guy became a Senior Features Writer in March of the same year, and now specializes in features about classic TV shows. With several years' experience writing for and editing TV, film and music publications, his areas of expertise include a wide range of genres, from comedies, animated series, and crime dramas, to Westerns and political thrillers.
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Star Wars: Starfighter is about to become the 13th movie of the Star Wars franchise in the spring of 2027, with Ryan Gosling in an as yet unspecified lead role. It’s thanks to Gosling, though, that Starfighter will become the first Star Wars feature film to break with a key tradition of the franchise.
When the highest-profile member of the Starfighter cast was announced back in April 2025, his name inevitably generated huge excitement. Yet, Ryan Gosling as a Star Wars hero has also divided opinion among diehard fans of the movies, who are worried that choosing a megastar to front an installment of the franchise could overshadow it.
Indeed, many of the greatest actors in Star Wars history were relative unknowns when they were cast in space opera saga. Those behind the franchise seem to have taken particular care to avoid giving a movie’s lead role to a Hollywood A-lister. With their casting of Gosling in Star Wars: Starfighter, however, this 48-year tradition has been broken.
Star Wars Has Historically Cast Unknown Actors For Its Lead Roles
Luke and Leia in The Empire Strikes Back standing beside each other
Looking back at the cast of the original Star Wars movie trilogy, it’s clear that Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher were plucked from obscurity when they were given the lead roles of Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa. Hamill had never appeared on the big screen before, while Fisher’s only previous film appearance was as a minor character in Shampoo.
We could say the same about Jake Lloyd and Natalie Portman in the prequel trilogy, and Daisy Ridley and John Boyega in the sequel trilogy. Meanwhile, although Rogue One lead Felicity Jones and Solo lead Alden Ehrenreich were well-known supporting actors before their Star Wars berths, they certainly weren’t anywhere near Gosling’s level of superstardom.
Ryan Gosling's Star Wars: Starfighter Role Indicates Disney's New Strategy
Ryan Gosling and Flynn Gray behind the scenes in Star Wars: Starfighter (2027)
When the details of Star Wars: Starfighter were revealed in April, it was Ryan Gosling’s name that was on everyone’s lips. The franchise’s casting of Gosling indicates the new direction in which Disney is taking it.
Gone are the days when Star Wars would turn an obscure lead actor into a superstar. Disney is now looking to find some ready-made stardust to sprinkle over its upcoming franchise films. On the other hand, in Ryan Gosling Star Wars has found a lead actor with unquestionable pedigree in the sci-fi genre.
His performance in Blade Runner 2049 was a triumph beyond the wildest expectations of those who believed the original movie could never be followed up. What’s more, his space exploration epics First Man and Project Hail Mary are the perfect preparation for the galaxy far, far away.
Star Wars: Starfighter Can Be The Start Of A New Era For The Franchise
Ryan Gosling and Flynn Gray in Star Wars Starfighter
Star Wars: Starfighter is the first entirely original movie in the franchise since what later became A New Hope was released back in 1977. Every other film in the intervening period has featured at least some returning characters.
It feels only right that the movie set to be released on the 50th anniversary of the very first Star Wars could be the start of a new era for the franchise. With Ryan Gosling as by far the biggest lead actor in Star Wars history, Star Wars: Starfighter could prove to be Lucasfilm’s most exciting new project of the 21st century so far.
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Star Wars: Starfighter
Fantasy
Action
Sci-Fi
Release Date
May 28, 2027
Director
Shawn Levy
Cast
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Ryan Gosling
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Matt Smith
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Flynn Gray
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Amy Adams
Star Wars: Starfighter is an upcoming entry in the iconic science fiction franchise.
Genres Fantasy, Action, Sci-Fi Powered by
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Star Wars
8.4/10
Created by
George Lucas
First Film
Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
Cast
Mark Hamill, James Earl Jones, David Prowse, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Ian McDiarmid, Ewan McGregor, Rosario Dawson, Lars Mikkelsen, Rupert Friend, Moses Ingram, Frank Oz, Pedro Pascal
TV Show(s)
The Mandalorian, Andor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, The Acolyte, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, Lando, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Star Wars: Resistance, Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures, Star Wars: Visions
Movie(s)
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi, Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens, Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi, Star Wars: Episode IX- The Rise of Skywalker, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi, Star Wars: New Jedi Order
Character(s)
Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Rey Skywalker, Emperor Palpatine / Darth Sidious, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka Tano, Grand Admiral Thrawn, Grand Inquisitor, Reva (The Third Sister), The Fifth Brother, The Seventh Sister, The Eighth Brother, Yoda, Din Djarin, Grogu, Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, Leia Organa, Ben Solo/Kylo Ren
Star Wars is a multimedia franchise that started in 1977 by creator George Lucas. After the release of Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope (originally just titled Star Wars), the franchise quickly exploded, spawning multiple sequels, prequels, TV shows, video games, comics, and much more. After Disney acquired the rights to the franchise, they quickly expanded the universe on Disney+, starting with The Mandalorian.
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Star Wars: Starfighter
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Star Wars
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Is Ryan Gosling the right choice for a Star Wars lead?
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