Star Wars: Starfighter screenwriter Jonathan Tropper is opening up about how the Ryan Gosling movie came together, and his comments back up everything the project has been signaling since D23.
Speaking on Deadline‘s Crew Call podcast, Tropper said the goal from the start was a story free of Star Wars mythology, set out ahead in the timeline, with as few barriers of entry as possible for new fans and viewers.
“This isn’t a Skywalker saga movie,” said Tropper, explaining the film isn’t dealing with the history of the Rebellion, the First Order, the Resistance, or the Empire.
“It’s a simpler movie.”
How Tropper Landed Star Wars
Tropper said the gig came through Shawn Levy, who he had already written three movies for, including This Is Where I Leave You, Kodachrome, and The Adam Project.
Lucasfilm approached Levy about directing a Star Wars movie and told him he could pick his own writer, and Tropper got the call.
Interestingly, Tropper revealed that when the two made their deals, neither of them knew what Starfighter would actually be.
Ryan Gosling’s Voice Got In His Head
Tropper also talked about writing for Gosling, saying he found inspiration in the actor’s cadence and expressions, and that Gosling would offhandedly say things Tropper knew would end up in the script.
“His voice gets in your head,” he said.
That lines up with what a Hasbro rep working on the Star Wars line told us at San Diego Comic-Con, that Gosling is heavily involved with Starfighter in the same way Ryan Reynolds is with Deadpool.
Tropper wrote the movie while showrunning Apple TV’s Your Friends & Neighbors, working nights and weekends, and said the crew itself became part of the creative process, with departments pitching ideas instead of just executing them, since everything on a Star Wars movie has to be built from scratch.
“You’re not going to Home Depot to get tables,” he said.
A Simpler Star Wars Is The Whole Bet
The mythology-free approach matches everything else around the movie.
The D23 footage introduced Gosling’s Kade Auberon as a cynical rogue paired with Flynn Gray’s kid and the fastest ship ever built.
IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond calls the movie a throwback to the Harrison Ford kind of Star Wars, and the trades are already framing it as a spinoff launching something new rather than another legacy event film.
After The Mandalorian and Grogu set a new franchise floor this summer, a clean entry point with no homework required is the bet Lucasfilm is making.
The Ghost Rider Connection
The collaboration also directly led to Tropper’s next gig.
He said the partnership with Levy and Gosling opened the door to writing Marvel’s Ghost Rider reboot, which Disney officially dated for July 28, 2028 at D23.
Tropper admitted he doubts he would have been a slam dunk walking into Marvel on his own.
Release Info
Star Wars: Starfighter opens in theaters and IMAX on May 28, 2027, directed by Shawn Levy and starring Ryan Gosling as Kade Auberon alongside Flynn Gray, Matt Smith, Mia Goth, Aaron Pierre, Simon Bird, Jamael Westman, Daniel Ings, and Amy Adams.
Tropper is also Emmy-nominated this year for Outstanding Drama Series for Your Friends & Neighbors.
