Shawn Levy and Ryan Gosling unveiled the first teaser for Star Wars: Starfighter at D23, and Disney and Lucasfilm used the moment to lock in the film’s release date: May 28, 2027. The footage did not arrive as a broad franchise montage. It centered on just three characters, making the marketing push unusually narrow for a series that usually opens with a much wider sweep.
That is why the clip is drawing attention now. Gosling is front and center as Kade Auberon, a new Star Wars character who appears in the teaser as someone who could be a pilot, a mechanic, or both. He wears a black jacket stamped with an upside-down Rebel Alliance crest, a small detail that gives the footage a defiant edge without explaining where Kade fits in the larger story.
The teaser is especially notable because it leaves out four cast members who are otherwise attached to the film: Amy Adams, Mia Goth, Matt Smith and Aaron Pierre do not appear in the D23 footage. That makes the reveal feel less like a full-cast introduction than a deliberate first look built around a single figure and whatever he is doing inside the movie’s world. Lucasfilm is also counting on the film to help get Star Wars back on track in theaters after The Mandalorian & Grogu fell short of box office expectations, which gives every public beat around the project more weight than a routine fan-event teaser usually carries.
The framing also invites comparison with earlier launches. The first teaser for Star Wars: The Force Awakens introduced Finn, Rey, Poe Dameron, Kylo Ren and the Millennium Falcon; Rogue One opened with Jyn Erso, Cassian Andor, Mon Mothma, Orson Krennic and Saw Gerrera; The Last Jedi leaned on Luke Skywalker before revealing Mark Hamill; and The Rise of Skywalker brought back Lando Calrissian and teased Emperor Palpatine. By contrast, Starfighter is being introduced through a smaller lens, and that choice suggests Lucasfilm wants curiosity first, answers later.
For Gosling, the teaser adds another major franchise job to a busy stretch that already includes Project Hail Mary and a new deal to play Ghost Rider in the MCU. But the immediate question is simpler: if Lucasfilm is staking so much on a tightly controlled first look, then Kade Auberon is the face of the campaign until the next trailer arrives.
