It's been over five years since Disney made a Star Wars movie with December 2019's The Rise of the Skywalker. The company has been focused on making high-budget Star Wars TV shows for Disney+, but the first Star Wars film of a new era, The Mandalorian and Grogu, based on the series, is set to release next year, and there are plans for other movies, despite multiple cancellations in recent years. One of those upcoming movies is Shawn Levy's film, which has already has two years of total development, and now, a recent report claims that Ryan Gosling may join the galaxy far, far away.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Gosling is "in negotiations" to lead Shawn Levy's upcoming Star Wars film, but details about the lead character are still being kept under wraps. Plot details are also unknown at this time, though THR noted that it's a "standalone movie" that's not part of the Skywalker Saga.
Here's what THR said in its report:
Sources say the Gosling development is a late-in-the-game move for Levy’s movie schedule. The filmmaker was eyeing to direct a boy band movie set up at Paramount, which would have reunited him with Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman. But Gosling’s interest and involvement suddenly shifted the Star Wars project into hyperspace.
If Gosling officially signs a deal, his casting is expected to fast-track the production for Levy's Star Wars film. THR notes that production could be ready to begin this fall, assuming everything goes as planned. Levy's film would follow The Mandalorian and Grogu, the only Star Wars movie to officially get confirmed in more than five years. That movie, which recently finished principal photography, is scheduled to release on May 22, 2026.
Signing Gosling, an A-list actor and a three-time Oscar nominee, would be a rare development as the previous Star Wars movie projects signed mostly lesser known actors at the time they were cast. Jude Law recently made his Star Wars debut in Skeleton Crew, which recently ended its broadcast, but that's a Disney+ series. After having starring roles in Blade Runner 2049, La La Land, and Barbie, Gosling would arguably be the biggest actor to join the Star Wars universe ever.
In a December 2024 interview with IndieWire, Levy shared a brief update on his Star Wars film, revealing that he was collaborating with screenwriter Jonathan Topper. When the outlet asked him what Star Wars meant to him, he said, "I’ll say that the experience of crafting this story has forced me to think about that question. Because there’s only so many times that Star Wars movies can revisit the same section of the timeline, and so it’s really forced me — because I don’t want to do a Star Wars movie that is redundant to others, nor am I interested in doing one that has to serve another movie."
Hopefully, we'll get an official update for Levy's upcoming Star Wars film from Disney and Lucasfilm soon.
