As production on the 2027 sci-fi blockbuster continues, Shawn Levy’s younger self is “losing his mind” on the set of Star Wars: Starfighter
Shawn Levy’s inner child is “losing his mind” making Star Wars: Starfighter.
The 57-year-old director is helming the Ryan Gosling-starring adventure flick set in the galaxy far, far away, and Levy has admitted he has been overcome with “excitement” on the set of Star Wars: Starfighter.
During an interview with Vanity Fair, the Deadpool and Wolverine filmmaker said: “Every day on set with Star Wars, I’ve got my 10-year-old self next to me.
“I’m sort of inspired and – in the midst of a huge amount of stress – gleeful. Younger me is there every day, and he’s losing his mind with excitement.”
Levy also compared directing Star Wars: Starfighter to other projects like Free Guy and Deadpool and Wolverine, and said the sci-fi blockbuster is “uniquely intricate” to make because he has free rein over where to take its story.
He explained: “Nothing quite prepares you for the unique experience of directing Star Wars. I’ve done ambitious movies with high levels of complexity – certainly things like Free Guy and Deadpool and Wolverine were not chamber pieces.
“So I thought I was used to big-scale complexity and production. But Star Wars is uniquely intricate, because not only are you inheriting a beloved legacy, but in the case of Starfighter, I’ve got this self-imposed but very Lucasfilm-supported mandate of making a new adventure.
“And so every creative decision, it’s all bespoke and new. So it’s the normal number of decisions per day the directors are used to, but probably times 10.”
Even so, Levy is grateful Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy encouraged him to create a new and original story with Star Wars: Starfighter that is not linked to any previous projects.
He said: “When word got out that Disney had acquired Lucasfilm and they were going to sort of relaunch the film franchise, I was one of dozens of directors who raised their hand and let it be known to anyone who would listen that that would be a dream.
“But then the dream sort of receded because nothing came of it, and I kept busy doing lots of my own stuff.
“So to get that call from Kathleen Kennedy in August of 2022, I literally remember where I was. She said, ‘I want you to do a Star Wars movie.’ I asked the obvious question, ‘Which one? What’s it a prequel to? What’s it a sequel to?’ And the immediate answer was, ‘Whatever one you want. Make it feel like your movies feel.’
“It was just this incredibly empowering opportunity.”
The Stranger Things director added he knew Kennedy wanted Star Wars: Starfighter to be a “combination of humor and heart, within adventure”.
He said: “I knew the feeling that she wanted. I know the aspects of my work that have worked and that she was alluding to. It is sort of a combination of humor and heart, within adventure.
“The first step was, I chose [screenwriter] Jonathan Tropper, with whom I’ve done small movies and big movies. We just started talking, and it led to months of dreaming and brainstorming and rejecting ideas and embracing others.
“And little by little, it led us to a theme that was really interesting to me and some characters that were interesting to me. I can’t give anything more than that away.”
As well as Gosling, Star Wars: Starfighter will feature Amy Adams, Mia Goth, Aaron Pierre, Flynn Gray, Simon Bird, Jamael Westman, Daniel Ings and Matt Smith.
Star Wars: Starfighter director Shawn Levy’s inner child ‘losing his mind’ making sci-fi blockbuster
