Disney and Lucasfilm have unveiled the first footage from Star Wars: Starfighter, giving audiences at D23 their first substantial look at Ryan Gosling’s new chapter in the franchise. The footage was presented during the Disney Entertainment Showcase in Anaheim on August 14 and 15, 2026, and offered a first glimpse at the film’s story, characters and tone ahead of its theatrical release next year.
Gosling plays Kade Auberon, a new character created specifically for the film rather than one drawn from earlier Star Wars stories. Director Shawn Levy appeared alongside Gosling to introduce the footage, with Levy describing Kade as someone from the harsher side of the galaxy whose life becomes connected to a legendary starfighter.
The footage shown at D23 was not released publicly, meaning audiences who were not at the presentation have so far had to rely on reports from journalists who attended the event. The sequence reportedly begins inside a worn-down spaceship garage, where a teenager played by Flynn Gray discovers an old, decommissioned ship that once served the Empire. Kade arrives and questions him about the vessel before explaining its significance, including its reputation as the fastest ship of its kind.
The sequence then moves into the air as Kade pilots the repaired starfighter across an ocean planet dominated by enormous geysers. Droids attack the ship as Kade attempts to take off, while his robot co-pilot assists him. The footage therefore offers an early indication that the film will combine its character-driven story with large-scale flying sequences and action.
Starfighter takes place five years after the events of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, placing it further into the future of the franchise than any previous Star Wars film. However, the movie is not being positioned as a direct continuation of the earlier Skywalker storyline. Instead, Levy and Lucasfilm are introducing an original story with new characters and moving away from the family narrative that dominated the previous films.
The film will nevertheless retain several of the themes traditionally associated with Star Wars. Levy has described the story as exploring hope, family and adventure, while using a period of galactic history that has not previously been depicted on screen.
Levy directs Star Wars: Starfighter from a screenplay by Jonathan Tropper. Following his work on Deadpool & Wolverine, Levy is using the project to build a character-driven adventure within the established Star Wars universe. The cast combines established actors with newer performers, including Gosling and Gray alongside Matt Smith, Mia Goth, Aaron Pierre, Simon Bird, Jamael Westman, Daniel Ings and Amy Adams.
The film is scheduled to open in theaters on May 28, 2027. The release date also carries some significance for the franchise: Levy noted at D23 that it falls during the same Memorial Day weekend period in which the original Star Wars premiered 50 years earlier. According to Levy, the timing was not deliberately planned by the studio, but its connection to the original film gives the release added resonance.
Starfighter arrives at an important point for Lucasfilm’s theatrical Star Wars strategy. The supplied source notes that The Mandalorian and Grogu finished its theatrical run with $345 million worldwide against a reported $165 million production budget before marketing, making it the lowest-grossing live-action Star Wars film to date.
Against that backdrop, Starfighter represents another attempt to expand the franchise beyond its most familiar characters and storylines. Rather than revisiting the Skywalker family, the film is built around Kade Auberon, a new protagonist, and an unexplored period in the galaxy’s history.
The D23 footage suggests that Levy’s film will combine that new setting with the elements that have long defined Star Wars: spaceflight, action, family and a sense of adventure. Whether Starfighter can establish a new corner of the franchise while maintaining its connection to the wider Star Wars identity will become clearer when the film arrives in theaters on May 28, 2027.
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