Actor Matt Smith is heading to the galaxy far, far away, joining director Shawn Levy’s standalone feature Star Wars: Starfighter as one of the film’s chief antagonists opposite lead star Ryan Gosling.
Sources close to the production state that Smith’s character will partner—though not necessarily align—with the previously announced villain role played by Mia Goth, giving Gosling’s unnamed hero a “duo of pursuers.” Script duties fall to Jonathan Tropper, while Lucasfilm has fixed a theatrical launch date of May 28 2027, positioning the project as the next big-screen chapter after The Mandalorian & Grogu lands in 2026.
Levy, speaking to People in April, described pairing Gosling’s “uniquely cool ethos” with Star Wars as “a recipe that makes the galaxy better and cooler,” adding that the story sits a few years after the Battle of Exegol yet is “neither prequel nor sequel.” Gosling echoed that enthusiasm at Star Wars Celebration Japan, praising a script “filled with heart and adventure.”
For Smith, the casting marks a second brush with the franchise after a transformative role planned for The Rise of Skywalker was cut during rewrites; at the time he said the part “never quite got over the line.” His eventual arrival has already triggered speculation that the former Doctor Who star—fresh off House of the Dragon—could finally embody the kind of dark-side figure many fans long imagined.
Lucasfilm aims to roll cameras in late 2025, giving Levy time to finish post-production on Deadpool & Wolverine and allowing Disney’s release slate to breathe after several franchise delays. The studio continues to tout Starfighter as a self-contained adventure that will introduce an entirely new era, cast, and tone while staying true to the series’ trademark mix of high-stakes action, found-family dynamics, and mythic scale.
