Dave Filoni’s ‘Star Wars’ To Leave George Lucas Era Behind, 2027 Reset Confirmed
The Star Wars franchise is entering unfamiliar territory. Nearly five decades after George Lucas first launched the saga, Lucasfilm is pivoting away from the Skywalker bloodline to explore stories that exist beyond its long-established core.
That transition begins on the big screen next year, marking the franchise’s first theatrical release since J. J. Abrams wrapped up the sequel trilogy with 2019’s Star Wars: Episode IX–The Rise of Skywalker. After years spent expanding the galaxy through Disney+ series, Lucasfilm is refocusing its attention on cinemas, starting with Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian and Grogu, set for release on May 22, 2026. The film centers on Din Djarin, played by Pedro Pascal, and his Force-sensitive companion Grogu.
But attention has already shifted toward what comes next. At Star Wars Celebration 2025, former Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and current co-president Dave Filoni joined Shawn Levy and Ryan Gosling on stage to unveil Star Wars: Starfighter, which is slated to arrive in theaters on May 28, 2027.
According to StarWars.com, “Set approximately five years after the events of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Gosling will play a brand-new character teased by the actor’s appearance on stage.”
The official announcement added: “One of several theatrical projects still in development from Lucasfilm, including films by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, James Mangold, Taika Waititi, and a new trilogy by Simon Kinberg, Levy’s film–Star Wars: Starfighter–will star Gosling and go into production starting this fall.”
The ensemble continues to take shape, with Aaron Pierre, Simon Bird, Jamael Westman, Daniel Ings, and Amy Adams joining previously announced cast members Mia Goth and Matt Smith. Among the more closely watched additions is Flynn Gray, whose reported co-lead role has sparked discussion about a potential Jedi-apprentice storyline.
Unlike many previous installments, Starfighter is designed as a clean break from the Skywalker narrative. Rather than revisiting legacy characters such as Rey, the film explores a galaxy reshaped after the fall of the First Order, populated entirely by new figures and conflicts. Lucasfilm describes the project as “an entirely original story set in a period of time never before explored” and “an all-new standalone adventure.”
For Levy, the opportunity represents a personal milestone. “From the day Kathy Kennedy called me up, inviting me to develop an original adventure in this incredible Star Wars galaxy, this experience has been a dream come true,” said the director of Deadpool & Wolverine (2024).
Despite being positioned as a standalone film, speculation persists about how Starfighter might fit into a broader narrative. Some reports suggested the possible involvement of Daisy Ridley’s Rey Skywalker, potentially linking the story to a future New Jedi Order project. Other rumors pointed to a Force-sensitive child guided by a Jedi mother—believed to be played by Amy Adams—which could have intersected with Rey’s efforts to rebuild the Jedi Order. However, those ideas appear to have been dismissed.
With Gosling in the lead and Levy directing from a script by Jonathan Tropper, the film is already being viewed as a key piece of Lucasfilm’s long-term plans. Still, Levy has stressed that Starfighter is intended to function independently.
In an interview with Collider, he explained: “Well, for one thing, it is different in that it is an all-new non-sequel, non-prequel adventure. It’s new characters, it’s a new timeline. It inherits legacy themes, but it’s really trying to give Star Wars [fans]–and just movie audiences–something fresh, something new,” he said.
He added, “And with a spirit of play and big-hearted adventure with moments of real levity that, frankly, A New Hope had in a revolutionary way.”
Levy also emphasized his creative partnership with Gosling and cinematographer Claudio Miranda, noting: “My crew, my DP, Claudio Miranda, Gosling is my kind of central collaborator in the lead role. It’s certainly been a dream come true. My 10-year-old self is on set with me every day,” he said.
“In fact, he’s going to catch a flight tonight to go back to the set and keep shooting on Monday. But it’s a huge, invigorating opportunity because Lucasfilm has been so encouraging of me doing something new.” He concluded: “There’s no pressure to be derivative or limited by an obligation to what came before. There’s just a love of what came before.”
Levy reinforced that sense of creative freedom in a separate interview. “Every time I’ve asked, ‘Should I use this character that was maybe in that movie?’ Every time it’s, ‘You know what? People have seen that. Do something new,'” the director told The Playlist.
“There is no mandate or interference other than the constant encouragement, ‘Make this new.’ And that’s the truth,” he continued. “Unlike Solo… unlike Rise of Skywalker, which was a sequel to two other movies and ultimately a ninth film in the Skywalker saga, Starfighter is all new characters based on new ideas that Jonathan and I cooked up alone and together.”
Since The Walt Disney Company acquired Lucasfilm, all Star Wars films have tied directly into existing storylines. The sequel trilogy extended the Skywalker saga, while Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) connected to Star Wars: Episode IV–A New Hope (1977), and Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) explored the origins of Han Solo. Even The Mandalorian and Grogu builds on an established Disney+ series.
Starfighter, by contrast, signals a rare departure—one that could define the next era of Star Wars storytelling.
How do you feel about this next chapter of the Star Wars franchise after so many years of familiar characters? Let us know in the comments down below!
