Ryan Gosling’s ‘Starfighter’ Will Fail If It Doesn't Learn This Major Lesson From Modern Star Wars
Star Wars has found itself in an interesting place where Starfighter (2027) is the last hope for the franchise’s future. While Star Wars has a certain amount of pedigree afforded to it among audiences thanks to its long legacy, the series has seen better days. Amid a slew of cancelled projects and frustrated fans, the franchise is in desperate need of a major box-office win.
The biggest hope for Star Wars at this point is Starfighter, the upcoming film starring Ryan Gosling. The trailer released at D23 didn’t have any overt connections to other entries in the series, instead showcasing a character who feels divorced from the larger series—although it’s possible that Gosling’s Kade Auberon is a new take on Cade Skywalker from the original expanded universe. Hopefully that’s not the case, though, as a clean break and original cinematic hit is what the franchise needs right now.
‘Starfighter’ Better Not Be Connected To The Skywalkers
One of the things that some Star Wars fans are really hoping for in the upcoming Starfighter is that the film skips the potential connections to the Skywalker Saga and instead opts to be a wholly original entry in the franchise. The Skywalker Saga is the defining arc of the overarching franchise, a tale of three generations shouldering the burden of destiny and struggling under the weight. It’s a terrific modern mythology that helped serve as the narrative backbone for a larger universe full of storytelling potential. However, that story is done. It didn’t necessarily go out on the best of terms, given the negative reception and legacy of The Rise of Skywalker (2019), so just revisiting that connective tissue might be met with frustration by fans.
As it stands, that story feels genuinely complete. Revisiting it or retconning some surviving offshoot of those established (and now largely deceased) characters would feel like taking steps backwards instead of pushing the franchise further into the future. Having a new character with little overt connection to the franchise’s central family could be a real boon for the franchise, a chance to give a new character the spotlight and allow them to twist and tweak what the brand can even be about. Starfighter has all the trappings of Star Wars but with a decidedly unique tone compared to other entries. Trying to force a Skywalker connection in it would just feel like a waste.
Star Wars Has Been Great Lately When It’s Disconnected
While Star Wars has had a long overarching Skywalker Saga, many of the more recent entries in the franchise have been willing to play with different corners to great effect. Whether it be side shows like The Mandalorian (2019) and Andor (2022), distant prequels like The Acolyte (2024), or complete reinventions like Star Wars: Visions (2021), the franchise has found some really strong turns whenever it leaves the Skywalkers behind and shifts focus elsewhere.
Starfighter has the same potential opening, with a natural new character, world, and story to explore. While fans know little about the shape of the film outside of the trailer released at D23 2026, the lack of identifiable settings or established characters could suggest that the film takes place far away from the Galactic Civil War of the Skywalker Saga. It could also take place so far before or after that those characters are just stories and memories to the people of the galaxy. Star Wars has been at its best lately when it’s felt self-contained. Just look at The Mandalorian, which thrived when it was episodic adventures in the galaxy versus the criticak and audience drubbing it took when it became too indebted to established throughlines.
‘Starfighter’ Is A Make Or Break Moment For Star Wars
All of this comes at a very crucial juncture for the franchise. Star Wars was a massive investment from Disney that has largely paid off in the form of massive blockbusters and theme park expansions. However, the shows and films have been struggling in recent years. Even the popularity of The Mandalorian and Grogu has waned, with their big-screen debut Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu (2026), floundering at the box office. With the various Star Wars films still stuck in certain levels of development hell that could easily be canceled for the sake of saving money for the studio, it’s not hard to imagine the studio backing away from the franchise entirely for a time.
Starfighter takes on a much greater importance then, so it can’t risk being another stumble among many recent ones. Attempts to keep up the Skywalker Saga or connect stories to those established characters have faltered, while the fully original tales have earned critical appraisal. Shows like The Ninth Jedi (2026) and Andor prove there is still very much a place for invention in the franchise, with plenty of great visual elements and storytelling tropes to play with across the galaxy. Tying the series more thoroughly to the established films and shows could just weigh it down when a soaring success could revitalize the franchise’s cinematic future.
