Lucasfilm may have cut a major British actor from Star Wars: Starfighter after he was removed from its official cast listing. The next Star Wars movie is going in the opposite direction to The Mandalorian & Grogu, tossing aside connections to the galaxy far, far away in favor of a new, standalone story, helmed by Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy. Production took place in the U.K. from August 2025 to May 2026, with Barbie icon Ryan Gosling leading the charge.
One year after Lucasfilm posted Star Wars: Starfighter's official cast list in August 2025 to mark the start of production, the studio removed any mention of The Inbetweeners star Simon Bird from the article.
Using the Wayback Machine (a tool for viewing archived web pages over time), it appears Bird's name was only removed from Starfighter's cast announcement at some point between August 21 and September 2. That is several months after production wrapped in the U.K. in May, and just weeks after Starfighter unveiled its first official trailer at Disney's D23 Expo on August 14.
Excitement was running high for Bird to join the Star Wars galaxy, especially in the U.K., where he is something of a cultural icon for his performances as high school nerd Will McKenzie in The Inbetweeners and Adam Goodman in Friday Night Dinner, two legendary comedies created by Channel 4.
The 42-year-old actor has recently been the talk of the town once again as Netflix announced that he will reprise Will in The Inbetweeners 3, a reunion movie that brings the high school loners back together for the first time in 12 years.
Starfighter's stacked cast now includes Ryan Gosling (Barbie), Flynn Gray, Matt Smith (Doctor Who), Mia Goth (The Odyssey), Aaron Pierre (Lanterns), Jamael Westman, Daniel Ings (The Gentleman), and Amy Adams (Man of Steel). The much-anticipated blockbuster hits theaters next year on May 28, 2027, potentially kickstarting an all-new Star Wars trilogy.
Why Was Simon Bird Axed From Star Wars: Starfighter?
While Lucasfilm's latest casting update is no confirmation that Simon Bird was axed from Star Wars: Starfighter, either during or after production, it certainly suggests that he will no longer appear. The news is bound to raise questions about what may have prompted his potential exit and what his role was intended to be.
The British actor's comedic chops could have lent themselves well to voicing a droid, as Star Wars has often used Hollywood's funnier talents for its clankers, such as Richard Ayoade, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Alan Tudyk, and Taika Waititi.
If Bird's role was a voiceover one, perhaps recording was yet to take place, and his new commitments to The Inbetweeners 3 prompted his departure. There is equally every chance that Bird had other scheduling conflicts, or that Starfighter simply evolved throughout development, and his character was scrapped.
Bird worked with a major Star Wars actor before, as Daisy Ridley was once meant to appear in The Inbetweeners 2 before her scenes were reshot, for which she was unavailable due to her casting in The Force Awakens. Recently, there have been rumors and theories that Starfighter is setting up Ridley's return as Rey.
Even if Bird has exited Starfighter, fans should take solace in knowing that he was on Lucasfilm and Levy's radar, opening the doors for him to join the galaxy far, far away down the line. After all, he will have his biggest role in some time next year with The Inbetweeners 3, setting him up for something of a career resurgence.
