The star took the stage with Director Shawn Levy to tease the next Star Wars feature film arriving Memorial Day 2027.
Long before he joined the Star Wars galaxy, Ryan Gosling was a proud member of the Mickey Mouse Club.
During the Disney Studio Showcase Panel at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, Gosling revisited his early career, sporting a Mickey Mouse Club jacket similar to the one seen in a vintage video clip played for the delighted crowd. “I owe a lot to Disney,” Gosling said. “Had they not looked far and wide and come to my hometown, I would not be here today. And now here I am 30 years later… I’m back and it’s changing my life again.”
Switching into a new jacket inspired by his Starfighter character, Kade Auberon, featuring an inverted symbol on the back of his character, Gosling offered hints at Kade’s journey to come. “Kade is a guy from the wrong side of the galaxy, whose fate is intertwined with the fastest starfighter ever built,” Gosling said before giving eager fans a feel for the character he plays through an exclusive first-look shown to the live audience.
“I am so honored to release this film on the same weekend that the original film opened 50 years earlier,” Director Shawn Levy said. Like Star Wars creator George Lucas, Levy was inspired by American car culture, and films like The Outsiders and Lucas’s American Graffiti when he was working on the film. “Starfighter embodies the themes of hope, family and adventure that have always been core to Star Wars, but our story takes place in a period of time that has never been seen before which has been a privilege to create and explore."
In Starfighter, when a cynical rogue is confronted by his mysterious past, he is hurled into a dangerous adventure across the galaxy that puts him on a crash course with destiny.
The film stars Gosling (Drive, Blade Runner, La La Land, Place Beyond the Pines, Barbie) as Kade Auberon, as well as Flynn Gray, Matt Smith, Mia Goth, Aaron Pierre, Simon Bird, Jamael Westman, Daniel Ings, and Amy Adams. "This Star Wars story is firmly rooted in character, brought to life by these amazing actors," Levy said, "and all within an adventure that's filled with humor, danger, spectacle and the joyous spirit that has been the beating heart of this 50 year legacy that we all love so much."
Directed by Shawn Levy, the film is produced by Levy and Kathleen Kennedy. Executive producers are Ryan Gosling, Dan Levine, Mary McLaglen, and Josh McLaglen. The script is by Jonathan Tropper.
Star Wars: Starfighter, an all-new standalone adventure, will be released theatrically May 28, 2027.
