Star Wars: Starfighter director Shawn Levy reveals how the upcoming film will observe within the footsteps of Stranger Issues. Levy was an govt producer and frequent director of the hit Netflix sequence and has a cameo as a morgue attendant in season 1.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Levy defined that he needs Starfighter to really feel “epic and intimate” in the identical approach that Stranger Issues does. He additionally explains that Stranger Issues taught him to not be overwhelmed by franchise expectations, and to as an alternative stay targeted on telling character-driven and thematically wealthy tales. Take a look at Levy’s full feedback under:
If I’ve discovered something on Stranger Issues, it’s you can get intimidated by the size of franchise expectation. However you’ll lose your approach if that’s your focus. I’ve discovered the necessity to keep rooted in character, and themes and relationships on display. Sure, there’s spectacle and scale, similar to Stranger Issues. And naturally, Star Wars and Starfighter has spectacle and scale and journey at a stage I’ve by no means finished in my entire profession. However like Stranger Issues, it’s additionally very a lot anchored in a human scale character-sized story. I feel that if I can stability the epic and the intimate the best way the Duffers have with Stranger Issues, I’ll make a film and an unique and new Star Wars journey that may be actually satisfying to followers and audiences.
Whereas this comparability is supposed to create additional anticipation for Starfighter, it comes within the aftermath of a deeply divisive response to the Stranger Issues sequence finale. Many followers have taken difficulty with how the present ended, particularly the place the destiny of Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) is anxious.
That being stated, a criticism of Stranger Issues, significantly in season 5, was that because the present’s scale expanded, among the intimate character moments and relationships have been arguably overshadowed and misplaced. Levy is promising a Star Wars film that balances the characters alongside large-scale journey.
Although Starfighter won’t be launched in theaters till Might 28, 2027, Levy confirmed on his Instagram in December that the film had wrapped filming. Starfighter‘s forged options Ryan Gosling, Flynn Grey, Matt Smith, Mia Goth, Aaron Pierre, Simon Fowl, Jamael Westman, Daniel Ings, and Amy Adams.
Plot particulars stay below wraps, however Grey’s younger character is confirmed to be enjoying a central function. That is one other potential parallel to Stranger Issues, with the story balancing the kid and grownup characters of their numerous adventures, which can assist attraction to a wider vary of audiences.
By way of the place Starfighter takes place within the Star Wars timeline, it’s set 5 years after The Rise of Skywalker. Regardless of the chronological proximity to the sequel trilogy, Levy has emphasised that his movie is a standalone story specializing in new characters, though there was hypothesis that it may hook up with different in-development tasks.
Star Wars: Starfighter won’t be the franchise’s first film since The Rise of Skywalker in 2019. The Mandalorian and Grogu involves theaters first on Might 22, 2026. Stranger Issues did a restricted launch of the finale in theaters, however the Netflix franchise is sticking with tv for its upcoming spinoffs, whereas The Mandalorian‘s story has pivoted to movie.