New Star Wars: Starfighter Set Photo Includes Major Confirmation About the 2027 Movie

After an extended hiatus following the mixed reception to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the Star Wars franchise is gearing up for its big return to movie theaters. Next summer sees the release of The Mandalorian & Grogu, but the more intriguing title could be the one that premieres in 2027: director Shawn Levy’s Star Wars: Starfighter. Ever since Levy assembled a star-studded cast that includes the likes of Ryan Gosling and Amy Adams, fans have been curious to see what he has in store — especially with the tease of an original story that isn’t connected to anything that came before. There’s still a long time to go before Starfighter is ready, but it’s already cleared a major milestone.

On his official Instagram account, Levy shared a new behind-the-scenes image from the Starfighter set, featuring himself running along a wall in some sort of hallway. In the caption, Levy confirmed that Starfighter has now officially wrapped principal photography and he’s now ready to jump into post-production responsibilities. Check out his post in the space below:

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Since Starfighter won’t hit theaters until May 2027, fans might be surprised to hear that filming has concluded a week before Christmas in 2025. However, this kind of production timeline is nothing new for the Star Wars franchise. The Mandalorian & Grogu, which opens over Memorial Day weekend in 2026, reportedly wrapped in October 2024. Lucasfilm appears to have made a concentrated effort to refine its process as a new era of Star Wars movies begins, completing principal photography well ahead of the release date. This shift in strategy should only benefit Star Wars moving forward.

The first slate of Disney’s Star Wars films, consisting of the sequel trilogy and a pair of spinoffs, was riddled by behind-the-scenes turmoil. And while Disney was still able to maintain its target of one new Star Wars movie per calendar year, a couple of these projects arguably could have used more time in the oven. Solo: A Star Wars Story saw a massive upheaval with Ron Howard replacing Phil Lord & Chris Miller as director. Howard took over in June 2017, less than a year before Solo‘s scheduled release date, overseeing extensive reshoots. Also in 2017, J.J. Abrams replaced Colin Trevorrow as director of Star Wars: Episode IX, and while that film was pushed back several months, the end result came across as rushed as Abrams and Co. attempted to concoct a satisfying conclusion for the decades-long Skywalker Saga.

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There’s no telling how Solo or The Rise of Skywalker could have turned out if their respective creative teams were given additional time, but from the looks of things, The Mandalorian & Grogu and Starfighter will not be rushed. In the case of the latter, Levy now has nearly a year and a half to handle all of his post-production tasks, which will include extensive visual effects work (ideally no crunch for the VFX artists) and the potential for reshoots. If Levy realizes something isn’t working as he intended as he starts putting the film together, there’s plenty of time to schedule some additional photography to add a scene or two.

It’s encouraging to see Lucasfilm embrace a more patient approach to filmmaking. Star Wars movies are massive undertakings, so it just makes sense from a logistical standpoint to give directors all the time they need to give every aspect the attention it deserves. This is also a sign that Lucasfilm has learned from its past mistakes. The studio understands how important The Mandalorian & Grogu and Starfighter are moving forward. There are several other Star Wars movies in various stages of development, and if those are to get off the ground, these first two new ones need to come out of the gate strong and reignite enthusiasm for the franchise. There’s no rule that says taking your time is guaranteed to lead to a stronger film, but it certainly doesn’t hurt. Hopefully the Star Wars movie that comes after Starfighter has a similar production schedule.