Lucasfilm is entering a unique new era for Star Wars. The franchise has been absent from the big screen for six years at this point, but two major projects from the galaxy far, far away are on the horizon. The upcoming The Mandalorian & Grogu movie is set to premiere next year, arriving in May of 2026, and filming has officially started on Star Wars: Starfighter from Deadpool & Wolverine‘s Shawn Levy and starring Ryan Gosling. Both movies are set in two different time periods of the franchise that are still ripe for exploration, but the latter movie may be delivering something that has missing from Star Wars for years.
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Not much is really known about the upcoming Star Wars: Starfighter save for the cast (Gosling leads an ensemble that also includes Matt Smith, Amy Adams, and Aaron Pierre) and the era (it’s set a few years after the events of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker). That said, a new photo from the set of the film was released this week by Levy that offers an interesting tease. In the image, Gosling is seen alongside his young co-star Flynn Gray, the pair are floating on something on a near endless body of water, and it has us thinking, is Ryan Gosling’s Star Wars character about to be the new Han Solo?
Ryan Gosling’s Star Wars Character Could Bring Something the Franchise Is Missing
To be clear, there’s no way that Gosling is actually playing Han Solo or some kind of mixed-up clone being introduced at this point in the series. But the two images that we’ve seen of his character, coupled with his Hollywood history, may give us a clue that his personality and methods check a lot of the same boxes as Han Solo.
Only two photos have been released of Gosling on the set of Star Wars: Starfighter. In the first, he has a cool jacket draped over his shoulder while seated on a speeder, and in the other he’s stranded in the middle of the sea, bruises on his face from a clear skirmish. Any Star Wars fan would be hard-pressed to glean real information from either of these photos, but these pieces combined with Ryan Gosling’s filmography may paint a picture of what he’ll be like in the movie.
As fans know, Gosling has range to deliver stoic and serious characters like in The Place Beyond the Pines or Blade Runner 2049, but he has proven time again that he’s often at his best when playing lovable himbos that are as dashing and brave as they are silly and foolish. Gosling’s Oscar-nominated role as Ken in Barbie is an obvious example, but film fans who watched him as Holland March in The Nice Guys know that this is the exact right temperature for him as a performer. All those hallmarks, when put through a Star Wars lens, sound like none other than your favorite Corellian smuggler.
Star Wars Has Been Missing a Character Like Han Solo
Assume it’s true (all of it), and Gosling could be playing a rogue starfighter pilot that frequently lands himself in hot water and always has plans to get out of trouble, only for the plan to fall apart and to improvise in a way that makes him look smarter than he really is. Imagine he’s a smooth talker who knows his way around the galaxy. These elements could not only position him as the next Han Solo for the franchise, but put him in a place to fill a void missing from Star Wars.
Though Harrison Ford did return as the scoundrel smuggler in 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the character was changed by time. Obviously he was never going to be the same guy that fans saw back in the original trilogy, but his differences, along with dying in that film, meant that no one else really stepped into his shoes throughout the new movies or shows that were released.
Oscar Isaac’s Poe Dameron was perhaps seen as a Han Solo-adjacent character in development, but even he didn’t take on that kind of role as the trilogy carried on. On the flipside, Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin may have once been thought of as fitting that mold, but he has also had his own persona as the series continued. Even Alden Ehrenreich’s portrayal of Han Solo in Solo: A Star Wars Movie wasn’t the complete picture of the character, even if it was about as close to having that classic character back as fans have seen since 1983.
Han Solo Can Never Be Replaced, But He Can Be Replicated
The most important element of all of this is the fact that Star Wars fans need to remember something about Han Solo. As cool and badass as he appears throughout his time in Star Wars, he spends just as much of his time being out of his element. Sure, he shoots Greedo in front of a crowded cantina and flips credits on the bar to pay for the damages, but he also screams while running down a hall chasing stormtroopers. Yes, he successfully infiltrates the Death Star, but he also speaks into an Imperial communicator and says, “We’re all fine here now, thank you. How are you?”
Han Solo contains layers, and that, beyond anything else, speaks to Gosling’s character being a potential replacement. Not only has his Hollywood career proven that Gosling can be dramatic and badass, but he has the chops to juggle that alongside being witty, charming, and the ultimate buffoon. No one can ever fully replace Han Solo, but the lead character of Star Wars: Starfighter seems poised to be the next best thing.
There’s one last piece of anecdotal evidence that supports this idea. When Ryan Gosling was officially announced to be starring in Star Wars: Starfighter back at Star Wars Celebration, the actor wore a hat embroidered with five words spoken by none other than Han Solo: “Never tell me the odds.”
When asked what that quote meant to him ahead of filming the movie, Gosling responded: “I think it’s just exactly the advice that we need as we embark on this journey. I think it’s going to be a bit of a touchstone for us.”
Star Wars: Starfighter will be released in theaters on May 28, 2027.
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