Star Wars‘ new movie officially now has two of the most exciting villains since the George Lucas era. Currently, we don’t know much about 2027’s Star Wars: Starfighter. However, we now know the actors who have been cast as the upcoming film’s lead antagonists.

Star Wars: Starfighter is set to star Ryan Gosling, presumably as a pilot who may or may not be Force-senstive. Directed by Shawn Levy, we also know that Starfigher will be set five years after the sequel trilogy. Now, a new actor has been cast as a leading villain, making me even more excited for the new Star Wars movie.

Matt Smith Is Set To Be The Lead Villain Of Star Wars: Starfighter

According to a report from ᴅᴇᴀᴅline, Matt Smith will be joining Star Wars: Starfighter in a key villain role. Best known for his roles in Doctor Who and House of the Dragon, Smith is already a beloved franchise actor. The actor is also set to appear in Darren Aronofsky’s Caught Stealing, releasing at the end of August.

However, joining the galaxy far, far away would undoubtedly be a pretty big milestone in Mat Smith’s career (as it likely would for any actor)

It should also be noted that this isn’t the first time Smith’s name has been attached to Star Wars. During the release of the sequel trilogy, it was announced that Smith was set to have a role in 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker. Unfortunately, Smith’s role was ultimately cut during the filming process due to various script changes.

It was never revealed who Matt Smith would have played. However, Smith has revealed that his character was rendered “obsolete” during rewrites. Considering Starfighter’s placement on the Star Wars timeline only five years after Episode IX, perhaps Smith could be playing the same character who’s now been given a second chance to debut in the franchise.

While that’s just conjecture, it would be pretty exciting if that were the case. However, there were rumors during that time suggesting that Matt Smith was going to be playing a younger Papatine, having been rejuvenated by the energies drained from Rey and Ben Solo as a powerful Force dyad.

If that was indeed the case, it’s more likely that Smith is playing an all-new character in Star Wars: Starfighter. After all, it’s highly unlikely the Star Wars franchise would be looking to revisit Emperor Palpatine yet again (at least not after his second demise).

Mia Goth Is Playing A Major Villain As Well

Beyond Matt Smith’s new casting, it was revealed back in early June that actress Mia Goth is also attached to Starfighter. Goth is known for her dynamic roles in horror movies, including 2022’s Pearl and X.

Goth is also set to have a role in Guillermo Del Toro’s upcoming Frankenstein movie, releasing at the end of August. Goth will be playing Elizabeth Lavenza, fiancée to Victor Frankenstein.

Set to play another key villain in Star Wars: Starfighter alongside Matt Smith, one can imagine that Goth may very well have been cast for her strengths in her past horror works. As such, Star Wars fans might be in for a truly unique and haunting villain in the upcoming film.

Originally, it was reported that Oscar-winner Mikey Madison turned down the Star Wars role before it was offered to Goth. This confirms Lucasfilm has been looking for big names for its 2027 movie across the board, a decision that certainly sets the film apart from past Star Wars movies.

The Dynamic Between Smith & Goth Will Be Incredible

Considering both of their impressive resumes, I’m incredibly excited to see what Star Wars: Starfighter has in store and the chance to see Smith and Goth potentially working in tandem as dynamic villains. According to a report from THR, it’s been said that Gosling’s character will be trying to protect his nephew from “evil pursuers“.

While not yet confirmed, Smith and Goth may very well be these pursuers. There’s also an exciting opportunity here for Star Wars to debut wholly new villains with Smith and Goth, unlike anything we’ve seen before in the franchise.

With Palpatine and the Final Order being destroyed for good in Rise of Skywalker, it would be fascinating to see unique new threats rising in the galaxy. At this point, encountering Star Wars villains who don’t necessarily wear black and wield red lightsabers would be very refreshing.

After all, once Star Wars: Starfighter releases in 2027, it will be the furthest Star Wars has ever gone on its timeline. That means the possibilities are wide open to debut all kinds of new concepts, events, and characters to the Star Wars galaxy. With any luck, this will hopefully include Smith and Goth’s villains in the upcoming movie as well.

Star Wars: Starfighter is set to release in theaters on May 28th, 2027.