Ryan Gosling's Star Wars Movie Takes Its Name From A Prequel Era Video Game

The future of a galaxy far, far away on the big screen came into focus during this year's Star Wars Celebration in Japan, which took place this past weekend. One of the biggest announcements from the event was the confirmation of a new movie titled "Star Wars: Starfighter," which will star Ryan Gosling ("Barbie") and hails from director Shawn Levy ("Deadpool & Wolverine"). While much remains mysterious about the project for the time being, it's hitting theaters in 2027 and is already in pre-production. Be it by coincidence or design, we also know that the movie's title traces its roots back to a prequel era video game.

The game in question is also titled "Star Wars: Starfighter" and was released for the PlayStation 2 in 2001, later making its way to Xbox and PC. It was one of the many, many product tie-ins released in the aftermath of "The Phantom Menace" and before "Attack of the Clones" arrived in 2002. Nobody could rightfully claim that the game is as beloved as, say, the "Star Wars Battlefront" games from the early 2000s, but it was well received at the time of its release and even spawned a sequel (2002's "Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter").

"Starfighter" is set firmly around the time of "The Phantom Menace" and follows a trio of starfighter pilots as they undertake a series of dangerous missions to save the planet Naboo. Together, the rookie Naboo pilot Rhys Dallows, mercenary Vana Sage, and non-human pirate Nym form an unlikely alliance as they seek to stop the Trade Federation's assault on their once peaceful world.

Given where this game takes place on the overall "Star Wars" timeline, there's absolutely no chance Gosling and Levy's movie could be any sort of adaptation of the game itself. That said, it's still possible the film will take some very loose inspiration from the original game's story, seeking to tell a similar tale in a different era.

One of the very few things we concretely know about "Starfighter" the movie is that it will be headed somewhere new in the "Star Wars" galaxy. Levy and Gosling both hyped the newness of it at Celebration, revealing that the movie will take place approximately five years after the events of "The Rise of Skywalker." We're talking about a story that is literally decades removed from "Phantom Menace" on the timeline and takes place in what Lucasfilm has dubbed the New Jedi Order era.

Again, this rules out any sort of direct adaptation. But what we could see is a "Star Wars" movie focused on a fighter pilot, most likely played by Gosling, who is tasked with leading a dangerous mission (or missions) with a perhaps unlikely, ragtag group of other pilots. In that way, it would be a new sort of tale when it comes to the "Star Wars" movies, but could also very loosely resemble the game that it shares a name with. Even if that's not the case, though, this is still an interesting bit of trivia.

Beyond this movie, 2026 will see the release of "The Mandalorian and Grogu," which will serve as the first "Star Wars" film since "Rise of Skywalker." Lucasfilm also has several other features in development, including a Rey movie, a film focused on the very beginnings of the Jedi Order, a whole new trilogy being developed by Simon Kinberg, and one from Lucasfilm Chief Creative Officer Dave Filoni that will tie together the events of "The Mandalorian" and its spinoffs. But before that happens,  Filoni has to get "Ahsoka" season 2 in the books for its projected release on Disney+ sometime next year. We'll have to wait and see what comes next, but for now, all eyes are on Gosling and Levy.

"Star Wars: Starfighter" is set to hit theaters on May 28, 2027.