Ryan Gosling’s Star Wars movie, Star Wars: Starfighter, is the perfect movie to reintroduce a sequel trilogy character – and it’s not Daisy Ridley’s Rey. Of all the upcoming Star Wars movies in development, Star Wars: Starfighter was announced most recently. The film’s confirmation came at Star Wars Celebration 2025, with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy revealing that the Star Wars: Starfighter movie is the long-rumored project Shawn Levy has been working on.
Set for release in May 2027, a year after the story of The Mandalorian and Grogu, the project will star Ryan Gosling. Few story details have been unveiled about Star Wars: Starfighter at present, yet we know from the тιтle that it will include, well, starfighters. Star Wars has been looking to develop a starfighter-based movie since the announcement of Rogue Squadron, with Star Wars: Starfighter seemingly taking the place of the former. What makes Starfighter even more interesting, however, is the potential for a Star Wars sequel trilogy character other than Rey Skywalker to be reintroduced in the movie.
Poe Dameron Is A Perfect Fit For Star Wars: Starfighter
Poe Dameron Is The Greatest Pilot In The Galaxy
The character in question is Oscar Isaac’s Poe Dameron. Poe was part of the central trio of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, filling the pilot role on the crew. Poe spent a lot of time in the sequels in the cockpit of an X-Wing, performing some of the best piloting feats we have ever seen from a Star Wars character. With this in mind, Star Wars: Starfighter is the perfect fit for Poe Dameron to return.
After all, the film is set to focus more intently on piloting than any other film or TV show in Star Wars‘ history. Moreover, the timeline of the film aligns perfectly with Poe’s story. Star Wars: Starfighter was confirmed to take place around five years after the events of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, meaning Poe will still be in his prime during the movie’s events. If anyone in the movie needs a piloting mentor, who better to seek out than the Resistance general who destroyed Starkiller Base, fought at the Battle of Crait, and defeated countless Sith enemies in the Battle of Exegol?
Kathleen Kennedy Has Already Hinted At Sequel Trilogy Characters Appearing In Star Wars: Starfighter
The Door Is Open For Sequel Characters Being Involved
One of the other few details that has been confirmed about Star Wars: Starfighter is that the film is expected to include a mostly new cast. Shawn Levy and Kathleen Kennedy have both insisted as much, stating that Starfighter will take the franchise into a new era as Lucasfilm looks to reinstate its theatrical dominance. That said, Kennedy once made an interesting comment to ᴅᴇᴀᴅline about the possibility of sequel characters popping up in the story.
When asked about the film by ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy, given this Q&A took place before the confirmation of Starfighter‘s тιтle at Star Wars Celebration 2025, Kennedy stated: “Shawn’s is a standalone Star Wars story that’ll take place post-nine… And with this, it’s all pretty much new characters. We may bring some of the characters back from the sequel saga, but pretty much new characters.” This is better confirmation than any that Star Wars: Starfighter could include sequel trilogy heroes and, as explored above, no hero makes more sense for a return than Poe Dameron.
Star Wars: Starfighter Can Give Poe A Legacy That Rey’s Jedi Order Can’t
Other Sequel Era Movies Are Unlikely To Feature Poe As Heavily
One other benefit of including Poe Dameron in Star Wars: Starfighter, aside from the fact that it makes perfect sense, is that the film can provide him with an adequate legacy. As many will know, the sequel trilogy was divisive, to say the least. One of the main talking points was the treatment of the series’ characters, with many arguing over whether Rey, Finn, and Poe were handled as well as they could have been. Rey’s upcoming Jedi Order movie will, hopefully, rectify this where she is concerned by giving her a legacy as the leader of the next generation of Jedi.
Many have longed for Finn to be included as a Jedi in Rey’s new Order, potentially giving him a much-deserved lasting legacy beyond the sequels, too.
Where Poe is concerned, however, this movie is unlikely to do the same. As the sequels made clear, Poe is not a Jedi, with his destiny lying in the seat of an X-Wing. Therefore, while Poe could appear in Rey’s upcoming movie, it is unlikely to give him any sense of depth or legacy as it will for Daisy Ridley’s hero. Star Wars: Starfighter, though, could provide exactly this. If Poe plays a big role, the movie is good, and it takes Star Wars into the future, Poe’s legacy as one of the franchise’s best pilots can live on.
