Whether you’re a fan of Star Trek or not, Star Wars is probably the most well-known example of great science fiction. But look closer, and you’ll find that George Lucas’s galaxy is actually a blend of many different styles and genres. The original 1977 film was heavily inspired by Akira Kurosawa’s The Hidden Fortress, and also pays tribute to other classic samurai movies. In fact, Star Wars is essentially a classic Western, just set in space instead of the American frontier—trading dusty plains for the deserts of Tatooine.
As a huge movie fan, I’ve always felt that Star Wars leans more into fantasy than straight science fiction. Think about it – it’s the classic story of a brave hero rescuing a princess from a fortress, wielding a lightsaber like a sword, and ultimately defeating an evil wizard to save everyone. While it looks like sci-fi with all the spaceships, at its heart, it’s a fantasy film, and you can really see the influence of samurai movies and old Westerns, just… set in space!
Lately, the Star Wars series has explored a wider range of genres. Rogue One and Andor brought more focus to the war aspects of the story, while The Mandalorian highlighted the Western influences present in George Lucas’s original films. The 2024 series Skeleton Crew shifted the focus to themes of innocence, wonder, and adventure.
In 2027, Star Wars will shift its genre once again with Star Wars: Starfighter.
Get Ready For A Star Wars Fighter Pilot Movie In 2027
From the very beginning, thrilling space battles have been a key part of the Star Wars experience. Think of the iconic Battle of Yavin in the first movie, where we met Red Squadron, or the opening fight on Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back. However, some argue that skilled fighter pilots haven’t been as prominent in more recent Star Wars stories, with even a character like Poe Dameron in the sequel trilogy often seen off-ship and grounded.
As a huge Star Wars fan, I’ve always loved seeing pilots take center stage – those daring individuals and their incredible ships. The franchise clearly likes focusing on them too! We’ve gotten glimpses of this before, like with the Star Wars: Starfighter video games back in the 2000s, which were so immersive and let you really feel part of those epic battles. And then there was Patty Jenkins trying to make a Rogue Squadron movie, which sounded amazing – basically Top Gun, but set in space! Unfortunately, that project seems stuck in development limbo right now.
Shawn Levy’s upcoming film, Star Wars: Starfighter, scheduled for release in 2027, is expected to deliver a long-awaited story focused on the experience of flying and piloting within the Star Wars universe.
Details about the plot of Star Wars: Starfighter are being kept secret, but many reports suggest the film centers around a pilot—played by Ryan Gosling—who must protect a young character (Flynn Gray). Matt Smith and Mia Goth are rumored to be the villains chasing after them.
Details about the upcoming movie, and its title – Star Wars: Starfighter – suggest this installment will heavily focus on the experience of being a fighter pilot. It won’t be exactly like Top Gun in space, as a Rogue Squadron film might have been, but it will be similar in spirit.
Star Wars: Starfighter Could Also Be The Series’ First True “Road Trip” Movie
All Star Wars films feature travel from planet to planet – training in one location, meeting allies in another, establishing bases, and fighting battles. The upcoming movie, Starfighter, seems different. It looks like it will be a classic road trip story where the characters played by Gosling and Flynn develop their relationship during a difficult and lengthy journey that takes up most of the film.
If Ryan Gosling’s character is a pilot, the film will likely feature scenes of him flying through dangerous areas of space with Flynn, stopping briefly on different planets along the way. Kathleen Kennedy’s comments suggest this is the case. She described how young actor Flynn Gray frequently worked with new co-stars during filming, stating that “This movie is structured in a way that he had kind of a new actor coming in every few weeks that he was one-on-one with.” This structure points to a ‘road movie’ style plot where Gosling and Gray meet different characters on each planet they visit during their journey.
A traditional road trip story hasn’t really been told in Star Wars yet. While The Last Jedi comes somewhat close – showing the Resistance constantly on the run from the First Order and eventually landing on Crait before the big fight – it doesn’t fully fit the mold.
Star Wars’ Recent Experiments With Genre Have Gone Well
As a big Star Wars fan, I’m really encouraged by the fact that Starfighter seems to be heading in a different direction genre-wise. We saw how well Rogue One, that more war-movie-style film, did – both with critics and at the box office. And then Andor came along, and a lot of us think it’s some of the very best Star Wars content ever made. So, I’m hopeful Starfighter will continue that trend of trying new things and delivering quality stories.
It’s likely no accident that the first two seasons of The Mandalorian were both the best and most reminiscent of classic Westerns. Although season 3 received mixed reactions, the show’s initial sixteen episodes definitely breathed new life into the Star Wars franchise after the somewhat disappointing sequel trilogy. Even the animated anthology series Star Wars: Visions, which creatively blends many different genres, has been a critical success with a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Recent Star Wars shows that stick closely to familiar stories feel more uncertain than those that experiment with new ideas. Both The Acolyte and Obi-Wan Kenobi received mixed reviews and haven’t been renewed for another season.
As a huge Star Wars fan, what I’m really hoping for with Starfighter is that it avoids becoming just another Jedi versus Sith story – we’ve seen that done before! There’s buzz that Tom Cruise actually directed a lightsaber duel for the film, which is exciting. But ideally, that wouldn’t be the central conflict. It would be amazing if that battle happened early on, establishing something fresh and sending Ryan Gosling and his co-star off on a really different adventure across the galaxy.
While it’s an overstatement to say the future of Star Wars movies relies on how well Starfighter does, the franchise definitely needs a hit after The Mandalorian and Grogu didn’t perform as strongly as hoped. The fact that the new movie seems to be a fun, action-packed adventure is a good sign.
2026-07-25 19:09