Shawn Levy's Star Wars: Starfighter remains shrouded in secrecy, with very little revealed about the movie's setting, characters, and how—or even if—it fits into the wider good vs. evil narrative of this Galaxy Far, Far Away,
Doctor Who star Matt Smith and Frankenstein's Mia Goth are believed to be playing Starfighter's two main antagonists, but whether they're First Order die-hards or Dark Jedi is another mystery. We do, however, now have a better idea of what Smith's character looks like.
Appearing UK TV show This Morning (via SFFGazette.com), Smith revealed that he'd wrapped Starfighter the day before and revealed that his rather odd-looking haircut was specifically for his first foray into the Star Wars Universe.
"I finished a film yesterday, and they had to cut my hair for it. Star Wars. I finished that yesterday," he revealed. "So that’s why I have this daft haircut with this funny little bit in the front."
"Ryan [Gosling's] in it, who’s just fabulous. And I think it’s really exciting," Smith continued. "It’s directed by Shawn Levy, who did Stranger Things who’s just fantastic. And I think it’s going to be really great, actually. I think it’s got legs."
Does the actor's haircut look like what we'd expect from an Imperial loyalist or Sith? It's hard to say, and while characters like that have typically been the Star Wars franchise's go-to baddies, that isn't necessarily going to be the case in Starfighter.
While not confirmed, it's previously been reported that Gosling's character is attempting to transport his Force-sensitive nephew across the Galaxy to Rey's New Jedi Academy.
"The first few weeks of shooting, it felt like this oppressive sort of cloud over me, because everyday they would come to me," Levy explained during a recent interview. "It’s a hundred questions a day. And especially Starfighter, it’s not a sequel, it’s not a prequel, it’s not legacy characters. And it’s not in a period of time in the galaxy that’s ever been explored."
He continued, "What this means is that we are inventing everything in the movie. And the desire to make design choices, character choices, planet choices, costume choices, droid choices, alien choices, all of it needs to feel Star Wars-y."
As noted, the movie's cast will be led by Free Guy star Ryan Gosling. Joining him are Flynn Gray (Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2), Matt Smith (House of the Dragon), Mia Goth (Infinity Pool), Aaron Pierre (Lanterns), Simon Bird (The Inbetweeners), Jamael Westman (Hedda), Daniel Ings (Lovesick), and Amy Adams (Man of Steel).
Directed by Levy, the film is produced by Levy and Kathleen Kennedy. Executive producers are Ryan Gosling, Dan Levine, Mary McLaglen, and Josh McLaglen. The script is by Jonathan Tropper.
Star Wars: Starfighter will be released theatrically on May 28, 2027.