The Star Wars: Starfighter cast is beginning to take shape, with Mia Goth reportedly set to join Ryan Gosling in the upcoming sci-fi film.
The Hollywood Reporter said Goth, best known for playing Maxine Minx and Pearl in the X horror film series, will play a villain in Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy’s Star Wars movie. Production kicks off in England this fall, with a release date set for May 28, 2027.
THR said Gosling plays a character who “must protect his young nephew against evil pursuers.” One of those pursuers is Goth’s character. Lucasfilm declined to comment.
As for where Starfighter takes place in the Star Wars timeline, it’s set five years after The Rise of Skywalker, the third installment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy. But it is considered standalone, Levy has insisted. “This is a standalone. It’s not a prequel, not a sequel,” he said at Star Wars Celebration 2025 in April. “It’s a new adventure. It’s set in a period of time that we haven’t seen explored yet.”
Starfighter is shaping up to be the next Star Wars film released after 2026’s The Mandalorian and Grogu. It does of course share its name with a short-lived series of video games from the PS2 / Xbox era. The original Star Wars: Starfighter released in 2001, followed by the sequel Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter in 2002. But we don’t expect it to borrow anything from the games in terms of plot.
The Rise of Skywalker ends with a final victory over Emperor Palpatine, but it doesn’t give us much insight into the state of the galaxy after the Battle of Exegol. Daisy Ridley is already confirmed to be returning in the Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy-directed sequel to The Rise of Skywalker, which will tell the story of Rey as she looks to rebuild the Jedi Order roughly 15 years after the events of that film. Starfighter, then, takes place beforehand.
Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
