Matt Smith Joins Star Wars: Starfighter as New Villain
I’m already ludicrously excited about Star Wars: Starfighter, and now Matt Smith is going to join as the baddie, alongside Mia Goth. The main good guy we already know about is Ryan Gosling.
So English baddies and American goodies – a classic setup. (I’m English, so I can say that.)
Starfighter was officially announced at the Star Wars Celebration Japan in April 2025 and we don’t really know much about the film apart from the main casting and that it will be directed by Shawn Levy and written by Jonathan Tropper. So at least we know it is top talent all round.
Starfighter will be set around 5 years after Exegol
One other thing we know is that the movie will be set around five years after Episode IX, and will hopefully have nothing to do with a Palpatine or Skywalker. I suspect they will sneak in the odd cameo, but we’ll see.
Don’t get me wrong, I adore Star Wars and the Skywalker saga, but there is so much to explore in the universe. The books, comics, games, and so on have explored different worlds and timelines, and I’ve really enjoyed them. Although full disclosure – I never watched the Lucas Ewok movies and never will.
Matt Smith will make a great bad guy
Matt Smith was the last Doctor Who I watched a lot of. I travelled and moved country after his stint and missed the rest. So I was surprised when I started watching House of the Dragon and the nerdy bow tie wearing man I had admired was suddenly a blond badass.
I was even more surprised at how awesome he was at being a scary psycho. Which bodes well, as a good Star Wars baddie is always a joy to watch.
It also goes without saying that Ryan Gosling is a solid and dependable lead. The last thing I saw him in was Fall Guy, which was great.
There’s not a lot to add, except that Star Wars: Starfighter is currently in pre-production, with principal photography scheduled to begin in fall 2025, likely in England.
Targeted theatrical release in the U.S. on May 28, 2027.
Here is a short teaser trailer info thing from a few months ago: