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Director Shawn Levy reveals that his upcoming movie Star Wars: Starfighter was mostly influenced by Return of the Jedi.
Posted in: Disney, Lucasfilm, Movies | Tagged: disney, shawn levy, star wars, star wars: starfighter
Star Wars: Starfighter Director Talks Return of the Jedi Similarities
Director Shawn Levy reveals that his upcoming movie Star Wars: Starfighter was mostly influenced by Return of the Jedi.
Article Summary
- Director Shawn Levy cites Return of the Jedi as the major influence for Star Wars: Starfighter
- Levy compares his creative process to reliving his childhood dreams as a Star Wars fan on set
- Starfighter aims to capture the heart, humor, and epic spectacle of classic Star Wars adventures
- New standalone story promises fresh heroes and undiscovered regions of the Star Wars galaxy
Popular filmmaker Shawn Levy has officially cleared up which classic chapter of the original saga is shaping his approach to the upcoming event film Star Wars: Starfighter. During a recent appearance on the podcast On Film…with Kevin McCarthy, the director said his upcoming Star Wars film is drawing most heavily from the Return of the Jedi installment rather than the more commonly cited A New Hope or The Empire Strikes Back.
"Let me tell you something. People keep asking which Star Wars movie [Star Wars: Starfighter] is most like, which one inspired it the most," Levy said on the podcast. "If I am being honest, I know the cool answer would be [The Empire Strikes Back] and the inarguable answer would be [A New Hope], but it is kind of [Return of the Jedi]." He later adds, "I will tell you…there's moments where I'm on set, and I feel like that kid is with me, in the director's chair. Like I'm there making his dream come true."
Return of the Jedi brought the original Star Wars trilogy to a close with a mix of emotional resolution, playful space adventure, large-scale space battles, and, of course, a sense of discovery in new corners of the galaxy. In the interview where he dropped exciting hints about what's to come, Levy also pointed to that film's specific blend of heart, humor, and spectacle as the feeling he wants to capture with Star Wars: Starfighter, while still telling a modern standalone story for a new set of characters (and ideally, a new generation of fans).
Star Wars: Starfighter Cast and Official Release Date
Star Wars: Starfighter is currently described as a film set years after Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, following fresh heroes in an unexplored part of the galaxy instead of revisiting the main Skywalker storyline covered over the course of nine other entries. Ryan Gosling is set to lead the cast, joined by a buzz-worthy ensemble that includes names like Mia Goth, Aaron Pierre, and Amy Adams.
With Return of the Jedi now named as his key touchpoint and a cast stacked with recognizable faces, Star Wars: Starfighter is clearly gearing up to become the next big, must-see Star Wars event. The Disney film Star Wars: Starfighter arrives exclusively in theaters on May 28, 2027.
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