Star Wars: Starfighter Review

Against all odds, *Star Wars: Starfighter* hits like a thermal detonator in the best way possible. Set five years after *The Rise of Skywalker*, this fresh chapter dodges legacy character fatigue and delivers something the franchise desperately needed: new blood, new stakes, and actual mystery. Ryan Gosling slips effortlessly into the galaxy far, far away—cool, measured, a little haunted. He doesn’t try to be Han Solo or Luke Skywalker. He plays it grounded, like a rogue pilot who's seen too much and trusts too little. The script keeps his backstory mostly in the shadows, which only adds to the intrigue. Director Shawn Levy brings the same kinetic pulse and character-first focus he showed in *Deadpool & Wolverine*, but tones down the wink-wink meta. This isn’t nostalgia porn—it’s world-building with confidence. The visuals are crisp, the dogfights raw and tactile, and the Force? Barely a whisper. That restraint works in its favor. Some of the new characters—particularly the droid co-pilot voiced by Zazie Beetz—absolutely steal the show. Others feel undercooked, but it’s a fair trade-off for a movie finally charting new territory instead of remixing old beats. Not flawless, but bold. *Starfighter* just might be the most exciting *Star Wars* film since *Rogue One*.