Starfighter’ Won’t Be a Prequel or a Sequel

Since 1977, every Star Wars movie to hit movie screens has been a sequel or a prequel, but that’s about to change. Star Wars: Starfighter, which just had its release date and title announced at the Star Wars Celebration convention in Chiba, Japan, will be an all-new adventure set in the Star Wars galaxy. Collider’s Maggie Lovitt was on the scene as director Shawn Levy discussed the film.

Lev was also able to explain when in the Star Wars universe it takes place, making it the first piece of Star Wars fiction to explore the aftermath of 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker.

The movie is a new adventure, it’s new characters. It takes place in a new period of time after the Battle of Exegol in Episode 9.

Ryan Gosling, who will star in the film, added:

This story…it has so much adventure, so much heart, and original characters. It’s an opportunity to shine a light into a side of the universe that we may not have seen, and there’s just no one more perfect to do that than Shawn. Shawn is the best.

After receiving that high praise, Levy continued:

As Ryan said, it’s a big galaxy. It’s a big galaxy, and it feels like there’s an opportunity to do a movie that’s not a prequel, that’s not a sequel, and gives us the Star Wars DNA that we love, but with an adventure that’s all new.

Star Wars: Starfighter will be released on May 28, 2027.

What Is the Battle of Exegol?

Exegol is an ancient Sith world in the Unknown Regions; it served as the redoubt for the cloned Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) after his death at the Battle of Endor. From Exegol, he masterminded the rise of the First Order via his cloned catspaw, Supreme Leader Snoke. He also constructed a fleet of Star Destroyers with planet-destroying weaponry, and planned to wage a new terror campaign against the galaxy with his so-called Final Order. However, a number of heroes from the Resistance discovered the location of Exegol, and were eventually joined by a massive fleet of allies in the batttle against the reborn Emperor. Palpatine’s ultimate goal was to usurp the body of his secret granddaughter, Rey (Daisy Ridley), but she turned his dark power against him, destroying him once and for all. With Palpatine gone, the Resistance ships soon overwhelmed and defeated the Final Order. In the wake of the Sith fleet’s destruction, the people of the galaxy rose up against the First Order’s tyranny, setting the stage for Star Wars: Starfighter.

While we don’t know what Starfighter will be about, we do know who’s penning its script. Jonathan Tropper, whose new series Your Friends and Neighbors just premiered on Apple TV+, is writing the film. His previous feature scripts include Kodachrome, This Is Where I Leave You, and The Adam Project; the latter two were directed by Levy.

Star Wars: Starfighter will rocket into theaters on May 28, 2027. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.