Star Wars: Starfighter will follow “marginalized outsiders” from “the wrong side of the galaxy”, director Shawn Levy has said, with The Outsiders the stated inspiration. IGN reports the plot details from Levy’s interview with Fandango at D23 over the weekend.
Levy and star Ryan Gosling connected over the Francis Ford Coppola film — and the S.E. Hinton novel behind it — early in the script’s life. The 1983 movie pitted working-class Greasers against privileged Socs; Levy’s characters sit on the equivalent side of the galactic tracks.
“They’re not the privileged ones. They’re from the wrong side of the tracks. Our characters in Starfighter are from the wrong side of the galaxy. And it’s about these sort of marginalized outsiders who find each other and have a shot at discovering heroism through their connections.”
Shawn Levy, Star Wars: Starfighter director
What is Star Wars: Starfighter about?
Gosling plays Kade Auberon, a pilot whose fate is tied to the fastest starfighter ever built; when his mysterious past catches up with him, he teams up with a kid (newcomer Flynn Gray) on a dangerous run across the galaxy. The story sits roughly five years after The Rise of Skywalker — the furthest the film series has travelled in time. Levy also told Fandango the film will not feature legacy characters, and its score will not remix John Williams’ iconic themes.
“There was just something kind of blue-collar, working class, grounded and textured and real to The Outsiders that we tried to bring to Star Wars and to Starfighter. Yes, it’s set in space. It’s high tech. There’s lots of visual effects, but it’s very much grounded in characters.”
Shawn Levy
The rest of the cast: Matt Smith, Mia Goth, Aaron Pierre, Simon Bird, Jamael Westman, Daniel Ings and Amy Adams. One of The Outsiders’ stars, Tom Cruise, visited the set, where he helped Levy and Gosling stage a lightsaber duel — inspiration with a hands-on streak.
The setting is doing its share. With the New Republic and the First Order gone, Levy describes a galaxy with no governing enforcer or order — everyone is trying to survive, doing what they have to get by, as LRM Online reports from his Good Morning America interview.
When does Star Wars: Starfighter release?
Star Wars: Starfighter opens in cinemas on May 28, 2027. The wider cast and crew list, plus the official D23 announcement, is on StarWars.com.
“I am so honored to release this film on the same weekend that the original film opened 50 years earlier.”
Shawn Levy
UAE release plans have not been announced; Disney’s Star Wars films have typically reached local cinemas in the same window as the US.
What is Star Wars: Starfighter about?
Ryan Gosling’s Kade Auberon, a pilot from the wrong side of the galaxy, teams up with a kid (Flynn Gray) when his mysterious past catches up with him. It is set about five years after The Rise of Skywalker and features no legacy characters.
When does Star Wars: Starfighter come out?
It opens in cinemas on May 28, 2027 — the weekend 50 years after the original Star Wars opened. UAE dates have not been announced.
Why is The Outsiders an influence on Star Wars: Starfighter?
Director Shawn Levy and Ryan Gosling connected early on the 1983 Francis Ford Coppola film about working-class Greasers. They wanted the same blue-collar, grounded feel — characters from the wrong side of the tracks, translated to the wrong side of the galaxy.
