By
Jared Stewart
Published Feb 1, 2026, 8:43 PM EST
Jared is a writer, editor, and Communications Studies graduate who loves popular nerd culture (almost anything to do with Marvel, DC, Star Wars, or The Lord of the Rings) and the interactive storytelling medium. Jared's first console was the PS1, wherein he fell for Spider-Man, Spyro the Dragon, and Crash Bandicoot.
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Star Wars has been looking to the past for as long as it’s been around in a galaxy far, far away. Unable to confidently and meaningfully detach from the Skywalker Saga and its legacy characters until recently, via the hugely popular Andor show, it seems as if almost every piece of Star Wars media has been indebted to legacy characters. Therefore, if what’s been explicitly and officially shared about Shawn Levy’s Star Wars: Starfighter is believed to be true, the upcoming Ryan Gosling-led Star Wars movie could be incredibly novel.
In an interview with ScreenRant, Star Wars: Starfighter screenwriter Jonathan Tropper referred to the movie as a “completely new story” and said that they “weren’t bound by any structures of the past movies.” Interestingly, this apparently includes “no legacy characters.” It’s possible this could be a blatant lie told in order to mask eventual surprises, yet it could be one of Star Wars’ best choices in decades, and it is hopefully legitimate.
Star Wars: Starfighter Has No Legacy Characters, Allegedly
A Star Wars movie without legacy characters is tough to imagine, though it may ironically and upsettingly only be possible now due to their deaths in the sequel trilogy. Episodes 1–9 are wholly entwined with the Skywalker family, for instance, but while the prequel trilogy was essentially an origin story for Anakin Skywalker, the sequel trilogy had an opportunity to center its storytelling on brand-new characters exclusively.
Now, it seems as if Star Wars could be finally abandoning its brand synergy of legacy characters, even if they have no choice but to do so now. Because Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, and Han Solo are all deceased in canon, there simply wouldn’t be a way to reprise them, anyway, unless they’re brought back as Force ghosts or in flashback sequences.
That doesn’t mean it’s impossible for other characters who were established in the original trilogy to return for a cameo, such as Lando Calrissian did in the sequel trilogy. Still, what writer Jonathan Tropper has said would be a fantastic way to finally invite a new era into the Star Wars mythology that isn’t beholden to the nostalgia of beloved characters who’ve been around for nearly 50 years.
“You’re not going to see any of the characters you’ve seen in the other movies. So there are certain things that are still hallmarks of Star Wars that it’s good to have in there. But more than that, I can’t say.”
Starfighter Could Be Star Wars’ Best Movie in a Decade
Taking place five years after Star Wars: Episode 9 - The Rise of Skywalker, it’s anyone’s guess what Star Wars: Starfighter’s story might entail. If it has no legacy characters at all, though, it could rectify Star Wars: Episode 7 - The Force Awakens and achieve what it ultimately didn’t with FN-2187 (Finn), Poe Dameron, Rey, and Ben Solo, by having original Star Wars characters be the actual main draw for the movie.
Moreover, Star Wars: Starfighter’s cast boasts a list of A-list talent who could all bring something unique to the IP, including Ryan Gosling, Matt Smith, Mia Goth, Aaron Pierre, and Amy Adams.
Star Wars: Starfighter is scheduled to be released on May 28, 2027.
Star Wars: Starfighter
Like Follow Followed Fantasy Action Sci-Fi Release Date May 28, 2027 Director Shawn Levy Writers Jonathan Tropper, George LucasCast
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Ryan Gosling
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Matt Smith
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Flynn Gray
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Amy Adams
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