Ryan Gosling has announced he will be starring in a new Star Wars film.
The Canadian actor, 44, began his career when he was just 13 in the Disney Channel’s The All New Mickey Mouse Club.
He later went on to star in blockbuster films including The Notebook, Crazy, Stupid, Love, La La Land, Blade Runner 2049 and Barbie.
Throughout his career, Gosling’s films have grossed over $2billion (£1.5billion) worldwide.
Now the actor is set to star in a new Star Wars film.
Titled Star Wars: Starfighter, the news was announced overnight at the annual Star Wars Celebration in Tokyo.
What is Star Wars: Starfighter about? What we know so far
The announcement of the upcoming Star Wars film was made by Lucasfilm’s president Kathleen Kennedy and chief creative officer Dave Filoni.
A press release has teased that it will be set approximately five years after the events of 2019’s Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker.
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It has been described as an ‘entirely new adventure’ featuring ‘all-new characters set in a period of time that has not been explored on screen yet’.
Speaking at the event, Gosling said: ‘Being here and seeing all of you [makes it] more inspiring to do it. There’s so much creativity and imagination in this room and there’s so much love. It’s such a great reminder of how much movies can mean to us, specifically how much these movies mean to us.
‘The force is a mysterious thing, but, as I’m here, the force is the fans. All we can hope for is, ‘May the fans be with us.’
Production on the movie is set to begin this autumn, with Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy to lead the project.
Speaking to fans at the event, Levy also confirmed the movie was ‘not a prequel or sequel’.
‘It’s a new adventure,’ he shared.
Starfighter will hit screens a year after the Mandalorian spinoff The Mandalorian & Grogu, which is due to premiere on May 22, 2026.
Gosling, a Star Wars fan since he was a child, also shared that ‘the script is just so good’.
‘It has such a great story with great and original characters. It’s filled with so much heart and adventure, and there just really is not a more perfect filmmaker for this particular story than Shawn,’ he added.
During the announcement a photo that was sent in by the actor’s mum also flashed on screen, showing his childhood bedroom, complete with Star Wars sheets.
‘She still has them, obviously,’ he joked.
‘Naturally, she thought that it might be something that the fans would appreciate, but I suspect that she just sort of wants to justify years of hoarding.
‘As you can see from the picture, I guess I was probably dreaming about Star Wars before I even saw the film. And it’s probably framed my idea of what a movie even was.’
Levy has been working on developing the film since 2022, with the script written by Jonathan Tropper. The pair have previously worked together on three films This Is Where I Leave You and The Adam Project.
No plot details have been revealed about the movie, while no other actors set to star have been announced yet either.
When is Starfighter released?
Although production hasn’t even begun on the project, fans of the franchise can already mark their diaries for when they’ll be able to see the latest Star Wars film.
It’s also already been announced the movie will be released in cinemas on May 28, 2027.
What have fans said so far?
The news was met with significant excitement by fans, who rushed to share their thoughts.
‘KEN IS JOINING THE STAR WARS UNIVERSE????’ Megan commented on Instagram.
‘Ryan Gosling in a Star Wars film is actually so freaking cool,’ Giselle declared.
‘Who would’ve thought that Ryan Gosling would be in Star Wars. This is where the hype begins,’ another added.
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