Matt Smith has officially joined the cast of Star Wars: Starfighter, and he’s stepping into the dark side of the Force.
The House of the Dragon and Doctor Who star has been cast in a villain role in Star Wars: Starfighter, the upcoming film from Shawn Levy and Lucasfilm. Smith will go head-to-head with previously announced stars Ryan Gosling and Mia Goth in this standalone adventure set in the Star Wars universe.
Smith’s casting marks a second brush with the franchise. Some of you might remember that he was once rumored to appear in The Rise of Skywalker. That role, however, never made it to screen.
“We were close to being in it, but it never quite happened. I think the thing they were thinking of before. Eventually, the part became obsolete and they didn’t need it. So, I never got to be in ‘Star Wars,’” Smith shared on the Happy Sad Confused podcast back in 2021.
He added, “It was a really groovy part and concept. It was a big thing, a big story detail. A transformative ‘Star Wars’ story detail. But it never quite got over the line. It was a big shift in the history of the franchise.”
So while fans never got to see Smith’s mysterious original role, rumored to be the son of Emperor Palpatine, it looks like the Force had other plans. This time, he’s officially locked in.
Beyond Star Wars, Smith has had a career packed with wild genre swings. From his Emmy-nominated role as Prince Philip in The Crown, to his unsettling performance in Last Night in Soho, to the campy madness of Morbius, he’s shown he can shift gears effortlessly.
He’s also about to appear in Darren Aronofsky’s crime thriller Caught Stealing with Austin Butler and Zoë Kravitz.
Star Wars: Starfighter is being written by Jonathan Tropper, who previously teamed up with Levy on The Adam Project and This Is Where I Leave You. Tropper also created the Apple TV+ series Your Friends & Neighbors, so this project is in the hands of storytellers who know how to blend emotion, action, and character.
This new standalone Star Wars film takes place roughly five years after the events of The Rise of Skywalker, jumping into the timeline at a point where the galaxy is still reeling from the end of the Skywalker saga. With fresh faces and a completely new story, this isn’t about rehashing old tales, it’s about carving new legends.
The project was officially announced by Kathleen Kennedy and Dave Filoni during this year’s Star Wars Celebration in Tokyo. That’s when the title and timeline details were confirmed, and fans began speculating what kind of world Starfighter might introduce.
Production on Star Wars: Starfighter is set to begin this fall, and it’s aiming for a theatrical release on May 28, 2027.
Source: Deadline
