Ryan Gosling’sStar Warsmovie,Star Wars: Starfighter, is the perfect movie to reintroduce a sequel trilogy character - and it’s not Daisy Ridley’s Rey. Of all theupcomingStar Warsmoviesin development,Star Wars: Starfighterwas announced most recently. The film’s confirmation came at Star Wars Celebration 2025, with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy revealing that theStar Wars: Starfightermovieis the long-rumored project Shawn Levy has been working on.
Set for release in May 2027, a year after thestory ofThe Mandalorian and Grogu, the project will star Ryan Gosling. Few story details have been unveiled aboutStar Wars: Starfighterat present, yet we know from the title that it will include, well, starfighters.Star Warshas been looking to develop a starfighter-based movie since the announcement ofRogue Squadron, withStar Wars: Starfighterseemingly taking the place of the former. What makesStarfightereven more interesting, however, is the potential for aStar Warssequel trilogy characterother 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 theStar Warssequel 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 aStar Warscharacter. With this in mind,Star Wars: Starfighteris 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 inStar Wars' history. Moreover, the timeline of the film aligns perfectly with Poe’s story.Star Wars: Starfighterwas confirmed to take place around five years after the events ofStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, meaning Poe will still be in his primeduring 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 aboutStar Wars: Starfighteris that the film is expected to include a mostly new cast. Shawn Levy and Kathleen Kennedy have both insisted as much, stating thatStarfighterwill take the franchise into a new era as Lucasfilm looks to reinstate its theatrical dominance. That said, Kennedy once made an interesting comment toDeadlineabout the possibility of sequel characters popping up in the story.
When asked about the film byDeadpool & Wolverinedirector Shawn Levy, given this Q&A took place before the confirmation ofStarfighter’s title 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 thatStar Wars: Starfightercould 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 inStar 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 moviewill, 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 takesStar Warsinto the future, Poe’s legacy as one of the franchise’s best pilots can live on.
