Lucasfilm brought Star Wars: Starfighter to D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event last night, revealing that Ghost Rider star Ryan Gosling's mysterious protagonist is named Kade Auberon.
A brief teaser trailer was also shown to attendees, though it's one of the only sneak peeks from the event not to be officially released. Many in the crowd, unaware that was the case, raced to upload the footage to X and Instagram, but now find themselves hit with copyright takedowns by Disney.
Most copies have been taken down, but some have survived, and you can currently watch the thrilling preview here (via SFFGazette.com).
In the sneak peek, we find Flynn Gray's character pulling a tarp off a starfighter. Running his hand across the ship like you might a vintage car, he's interrupted by Kade, who tells him not to touch it. When the boy asks what it is, Gosling's character reveals that it's a decommissioned Imperial craft and the fastest starfighter in the Galaxy. However, Kade says there's a "reason" the kid has never heard of it before.
A montage of clips follows, largely comprising shots of Kade and various ships. The title treatment—which can be seen on the officially released teaser poster—below feels very '80s-inspired, and that seems to be the tone filmmaker Shawn Levy is striving for.
With Kade in possession of a prototype Imperial starfighter, is it possible he worked for the First Order before seeing the error of his ways? If so, that will make his rumoured mission to deliver his nephew to a Jedi Training Academy even more interesting.
Why hasn't the trailer been released online? Well, there's still the better part of a year to go before Star Wars: Starfighter touches down, so Lucasfilm may have decided it's too soon to put the spotlight on this one, especially with Ahsoka Season 2 to build excitement for.
The movie, set after the events of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, could set the tone for future movies to come (which, sadly, won't include The Hunt for Ben Solo based on new comments from Dave Filoni), and the studio needs a win after The Mandalorian and Grogu underperformed earlier this year. We'd expect an official release in time for December's Avengers: Doomsday.
Star Wars: Starfighter's cast is led by Project Hail Mary 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 Shawn 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.