Ryan Gosling's Star Wars: Starfighter just did something no Star Wars movie has ever done ahead of its release. Lucasfilm is counting on the film to get Star Wars back on track in theaters after The Mandalorian & Grogu fell short of box office expectations. Gosling, meanwhile, is arguably having the best run of his career, coming off Project Hail Mary and a new deal to play Ghost Rider in the MCU. Excitement for Starfighter keeps growing ahead of its release next summer, and at D23, Disney and Lucasfilm just gave fans a new reason to pay attention.
That reason is Starfighter's first teaser trailer, which Shawn Levy and Ryan Gosling unveiled together on the D23 stage, and the reconfirmation that the movie arrives May 28, 2027.
What makes the teaser genuinely historic isn't just that it exists. It's who's in it, or more specifically, how few people are in it. This is the first publicly released Star Wars teaser to only focus on just three characters. Before now, every Star Wars teaser has leaned on a packed ensemble, often translating to immense scope and scale.
That all began with Disney's first Star Wars movie back in 2014. The first teaser for Star Wars: The Force Awakens wasted no time throwing four leads at the audience: Finn (John Boyega) waking up in a sweat wearing stormtrooper gear, Rey (Daisy Ridley) racing across Jakku, Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) piloting an X-wing, and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) igniting his crossguard lightsaber. It also had major callbacks to the old guard, namely the Millennium Falcon, a character in its own right.
Rogue One went even bigger in 2016, packing its first teaser with a much major players, some recognizable by Star Wars fans, including Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly), Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn), and Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker). Amazing to think it was nine years later that that story was finally put to rest in Andor Season 2.
The Last Jedi followed the same playbook in 2017, cycling through a lot of the Force Awakens cast characters in its first teaser, including a Luke Skywalker voiceover, and then finally a reveal of Mark Hamill: "It's time for the Jedi to end."
Disney rounded out the Sequel Trilogy with its trailer for The Rise of Skywalker, featuring many characters, including the returns of Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams) and teasing the resurrection of Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid).
It's clear that Starfighter will be taking a different approach. Though it's also unclear whether or not the D23 teaser will be what's actually released to the public at any point. This does mean that, for now, the new Star Wars film is leaving out most of its loaded cast while marketing the new movie.
Amy Adams, Mia Goth, Matt Smith, and Aaron Pierre are all part of the Starfighter cast, and none of them show up in the D23 footage. Lucasfilm decided to zero in on three characters instead. Two of them will come as no surprise, but one was unexpected and could hint at the focus of the movie.
Starfighter's 3 Main Trailer Characters
Kade Auberon
Gosling, as the new Star Wars character Kade Auberon, is the first trailer's clear focus, and he looks like he's either a pilot, a mechanic, or both. He spends most of his screen time in a black jacket stamped with an upside-down Rebel Alliance crest that looks like a skull at first glance, a really cool new age twist on the iconic emblem. It also subtly tells fans a bit about Kade before even meeting him.
The scene that takes up most of the footage is in a garage, where Kade catches the young boy, played by Flynn Gray, running a hand along the engine of a covered-up ship and snaps, "Hey, didn't I tell you not to touch anything?"
When the kid asks what kind of starfighter it is, Kade calls it a decommissioned G17 Imperial Reaper, "the fastest starfighter ever built," then covers it back up without explaining why nobody's heard of it. It's true, G17 Imperial Reaper will be new to Star Wars lore when Starfighter releases.
Later shots show him buckled into a harness and later riding what looks like a parasail-like raft across open water, the same one from this behind-the-scenes image shared by Levy, weaving between towering pillars of water.
The teaser ends with Kade dramatically uncovering the (presumed) G17 Reaper again as the Starfighter title card lands over its engine, paying homage to the original Star Wars logo.
If this movie is going to succeed, it will likely be due to Gosling in this new role, which is safe to say after Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige hired both the star actor and Levy to make Ghost Rider for the MCU after watching Starfighter.
Flynn Gray's Character
Flynn Gray plays the trailer's other major human presence, a curious kid with a curious disposition who isn't afraid to push back on Kade.
Their exact relationship never gets spelled out. Related? Mentor and student? Something else entirely? The footage doesn't say. Though leaks will give spoiler-curious fans their probable answer.
What is clear is that after their exchange over the G17 Reaper, the two of them appear to be searching for something together, though the teaser is careful not to tip its hand on what that something is or where the search leads. Nor is it clear why there's even any conflict going on at all, but it's safe to say Gray's character will find himself in peril at one point or another.
For a first look at a movie still nine months out, it's a remarkably plot-light tease, but the simple teaser is sure to sell itself on Gray and Gosling's dynamic.
New Droid
The trailer's third major character isn't a person at all. At one point, a droid that doesn't match any previously established model turns up in the pilot's seat of a starship, apparently flying it solo.
The above image is of L3-37 from Solo: A Star Wars Story. This new droid bears a slight resemblance in build, but the "face" of the robot is much different, with lit-up, glowing eyes. His head and face look more like R.O.B. from the Nintendo franchise.
Starfighter hasn't confirmed who the droid belongs to, but given how much time Kade spends around ships and engines in this footage, it would track if the droid turns out to be his, maybe even the co-pilot.
While also not confirmed, many fans believe that this mystery droid will be voiced by actor and comedian Simon Bird, confirmed one year ago to be part of the Starfighter cast.
