Ryan Gosling to star in new ‘Star Wars’ movie, set for 2027

By John Liu, CNN

(CNN) — Ryan Gosling is set to embark on a journey to “a galaxy far, far away” in a new “Star Wars” movie.

The “Barbie” star will join forces with director Shawn Levy for “Star Wars: Starfighter,” slated for release in May 2027.

Set to begin production this fall, the movie will be set approximately five years after “Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker,” released in 2019, but will sit outside the Skywalker story as a standalone film.

“The film… is an entirely new adventure featuring all-new characters set in a period of time that has not been explored on screen,” said a statement from Lucasfilm, the owner of the “Star Wars” franchise.

Details of the film were announced at the Star Wars Celebration, a fan event in Japan on Friday.

The audience was shown a photo of Gosling’s childhood “Star Wars”-branded bedding before he told them he was “dreaming about ‘Star Wars,’ before [he] ever saw it.”

“It’s always been there, it’s sort of in the DNA of the culture. Myself, I think it framed my idea of what a movie even was,” Gosling said on stage in a panel with Levy.

“The script is just so good, the story, it has so much adventure, so much heart and original character. It’s an opportunity to shine the light into a side of the universe that we may not have seen,” Gosling said.

Levy, the director of “Deadpool & Wolverine,” told the crowd the film would have all the “fun of ‘Star Wars’” but it would be done “in ways that are new and original.”

“Because obviously you take on ‘Star Wars,’ you take on something this beloved, it’s intimidating, you’re scared, you’re nervous, you want to get it right. But we have a feeling that with this story, with this collaboration, we can get it right,” he added.

The “Star Wars” universe has massively expanded since Disney purchased the franchise in 2012, with the company commissioning a sequel trilogy to the original Skywalker storyline as well as a series of spinoff films and series.

Between 2015 and 2019, Lucasfilm released a new “Star Wars” film each year, including “The Force Awakens,” “The Last Jedi,” and “The Rise of Skywalker,” in the Skywalker series and standalone titles “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” and “Solo: A Star Wars Story.”

The franchise has also branched into streaming with titles including “The Mandalorian,” “The Book of Boba Fett,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” and “Andor” on Disney+.

The next movie in the franchise, “The Mandalorian & Grogu,” a spin-off of “The Mandalorian” series, directed by Jon Favreau, will hit cinemas in May 2026.

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