Star Wars: Starfighter just got a major script rewrite, and it’s one that has fans wondering whether the galaxy far, far away is once again flying into turbulence or just fixing its course before takeoff. With next year’s The Mandalorian & Grogu marking the first Star Wars feature film since 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker, the real pressure falls squarely on Starfighter. This one is supposed to prove whether Lucasfilm can deliver something fresh that still feels like Star Wars.
Director Shawn Levy has a full roster of talent on board. Ryan Gosling headlines alongside Flynn Gray, Matt Smith, Mia Goth, Aaron Pierre, and Amy Adams. The film takes place after the events of The Rise of Skywalker and is said to feature completely new characters. So far, the story remains tightly under wraps, but we now know the team has been hard at work redoing the film’s entire third act.
Speaking with the show On Film…With Kevin McCarthy (via The Direct), Levy revealed the change was not small. “We had a whole different idea for something in the third act, and then things didn’t align, and I was forced to come up with a new idea. And I’m literally right now shooting that section of the movie,” he said.
Shawn Levy talks Star Wars Starfighter, Stranger Things 5, Night At The Museum, Big Fat Liar & more!
While Levy declined to reveal specifics, he seemed confident about the rewrite, saying, “Everyday I’m grateful that the way I was supposed to do it didn’t work out, because the new idea that it forced me to explore is so much better than the original idea would have been.”
The movie is still nearly two years away, and outside of its setting in a post-Skywalker timeline, no one knows much about its story. Levy’s comment that “things didn’t align” has already sparked speculation that earlier plans may have tied into other abandoned or overlapping projects—possibly the Rey-centered movie, the canceled The Hunt for Ben Solo, or Simon Kinberg’s rumored trilogy.
The script is credited to Jonathan Tropper, who previously teamed with Levy on The Adam Project and wrote This Is Where I Leave You. Tropper also created the series Your Friends and Neighbors. Filming for Starfighter started in August 2025 and briefly paused in November while Levy promoted Stranger Things Season 5. Production is expected to resume in December, around the same time these rewrites went into effect.
Rewrites during filming aren’t always bad news, but it’s rarely a sign of total confidence either. Billy Wilder famously said, “If you have a problem with the third act, the real problem is in the first act.” That quote feels uncomfortably relevant here. Fans have reason to raise an eyebrow when the ending of a blockbuster is rebuilt mid-production.
Still, not every late rewrite ruins a movie. George Lucas decided to kill off Obi-Wan Kenobi only after filming had begun on the original Star Wars, and that gamble paid off. Maybe Levy’s last-minute fix will do the same for Starfighter. If not, Lucasfilm’s “new era” might feel a lot like its old mistakes.
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