Star Wars: Starfighter director Shawn Levy gave fans the first official look at Ryan Gosling and Flynn Gray's characters in the upcoming movie. As first announced during Star Wars Celebration last April, Star Wars: Starfighter is a standalone movie set years after 2019's Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. The movie is already headlined by a star-studded cast, led by Gosling, Gray, Amy Adams, Mia Goth, Matt Smith, and Aaron Pierre.
Production began for Star Wars: Starfighter in August 2025, with Lucasfilm sharing a preview of the two lead characters portrayed by Gosling and Gray while on set. Ahead of its May 28, 2027 release date, Levy built anticipation for the movie by posting a closer look at the pair's unnamed characters. In a post from Instagram, Star Wars: Starfighter director Shawn Levy shared a new image of Ryan Gosling and Flynn Gray in costume while on the set of the Lucasfilm movie.
Gosling can be seen wearing rugged clothes, hinting that he may be a smuggler or scoundrel tasked with protecting Gray's unnamed character. As for Gray, The Hollywood Reporter described his character as "a young charge" being hunted by evildoers from the galaxy far, far away.
Star Wars: Starfighter is ditching two major Star Wars traditions by becoming the first-ever Star Wars film completely disconnected from the Skywalker Saga and filling it with a cast of big-name stars like Gosling, Matt Smith, and Aaron Pierre.
What Fans Can Expect in Star Wars: Starfighter's Plot
Based on the first clear look at Ryan Gosling and Flynn Gray's Star Wars: Starfighter characters, it seems that both of them have gone through a lot after being chased down by their enemies. While it risks repeating the trope that The Mandalorian already established with Din Djarin and Grogu, there is still a strong chance that Starfighter could stand out, and it all boils down to the dynamic between the two protagonists.
Aside from being a pilot, Gosling's character could have a hidden twist tied to the already fallen First Order. The character could've been a pilot during the rise of the First Order, and he defected after the Resistance successfully won the war. This would make his dynamic with Gray's young character more interesting since he could be a reluctant protector before evolving into a more fatherly figure.
It remains to be seen if Flynn Gray's Star Wars character is force-sensitive. Still, one way for it to differ from The Mandalorian is for him to be defiant and potentially dangerous, continuously stirring up some trouble for Gosling's character while trying to protect him.
