The newest rumored addition to the behind-the-scenes team for Star Wars: Starfighter could show early signs for the film's box office potential. For all the complaints fans have with Star Wars' most recent theatrical efforts, the franchise is still a box office juggernaut, as every sequel trilogy film grossed over $1 billion worldwide. As a new slate of big-screen adventures goes through development, Lucasfilm looks to keep that financial trend going over the next few years.
According to a new rumor, Lucasfilm hired cinematographer Claudio Miranda as the director of photography for Star Wars: Starfighter. Marking the second in a new line of movies developed under Lucasfilm, Starfighter will also be a change of pace for the franchise as the story moves completely away from the Skywalker Saga.
Reported by insider Jeff Sneider, Miranda won an Oscar award for his work on 2012's Life of Pi and was nominated for another Oscar for 2008's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
In recent years, Miranda worked the same job on two major money makers, Joseph Kosinski's F1 (2025) and Top Gun: Maverick (2022). It stands to reason that Miranda's talent will help propel Star Wars: Starfighter into a similar box office success story.
As of writing, F1 is the sixth-highest-grossing movie of 2025 at just over $607 million worldwide (one of only seven movies this year to hit that total). Top Gun: Maverick is an even bigger success, as it grossed nearly $1.5 billion at the box office in 2022. That total places the Tom Cruise-led sequel as the 14th-highest-grossing film in history, and it peaked as the 11th-highest-grossing movie ever made.
Following The Mandalorian & Grogu's release in May 2026, Star Wars: Starfighter will be the franchise's next film released in theaters. This movie will be directed by Shawn Levy, and its cast was recently announced to include Ryan Reynolds, Mia Goth, Matt Smith, Aaron Pierre, and Amy Adams.
Star Wars: Starfighter is currently in production and will be released in theaters on May 28, 2027.
Will Star Wars: Starfighter Be Lucasfilm's Next Box Office Hit?
The one area in which Star Wars has not struggled often in theaters is at the box office, even outside of the Skywalker Saga. Four of the franchise's last five big-screen movies have crossed the billion-dollar mark globally (outside of Solo: A Star Wars Story), and Episode VII: The Force Awakens is one of only seven movies in history to gross over $2 billion worldwide (including the last two Avengers movies and both of James Cameron's Avatar films).
Additionally, it seems that Star Wars is putting a much greater focus on that side of entertainment after more than half a decade of hard work developing its slate of Disney+ projects. Particularly after critical flops like The Acolyte (which fans still want to see renewed for a second season), Lucasfilm is intent on getting back to its regular place on top of the sci-fi world.
At the very least, this film will take a different direction than many recent projects, focusing on high-flying action and combat rather than politics and emotional drama (possibly similar to something like Top Gun).
Behind Gosling and Levy, who are both coming off huge successes like 2023's Barbie and 2024's Deadpool & Wolverine, the stage could be set for Star Wars to recapture the magic the franchise built over nearly the last 50 years.
Richard Nebens joined The Direct in March 2020, now serving as the site's Senior Writer and also working as an assistant editor and content creator. He started his journalism career as a hobby in 2019 and is passionate about sharing news and stories from the entertainment industry, especially comic book movies, comedy, and sci-fi. Richard looks to expand his knowledge about movies and TV every day, and he is eager to stay locked into the latest releases and breaking news at every opportunity.
