Ryan Gosling Explains Why He Finally Joined Star Wars After Avoiding Franchises

Ryan Gosling has spent most of his career doing something unusual for an A-list Hollywood star: avoiding major film franchises.

No Marvel. No DC. No long-running cinematic universes.

So when it was revealed he would lead a brand-new Star Wars movie, fans immediately had one question: why now?

According to Gosling himself, the answer comes down to one person — and one script.

“It Was Shawn’s Vision”

In a new interview discussing his upcoming Star Wars film Star Wars: Starfighter, Gosling opened up about why this was the franchise that finally convinced him to step into blockbuster territory.

“It was Shawn’s enthusiasm and his vision and the script,” Gosling explained. “I just avoided these things because they never felt right… and I’m glad I did because it was worth waiting for. It is like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

That’s a pretty strong endorsement — especially from an actor known for being extremely selective about the projects he takes on.

For years, Gosling built a career on standalone films and character-driven stories rather than tying himself to multi-movie franchises. So the fact that Star Wars is the one that broke that streak says a lot about what Lucasfilm and director Shawn Levy are cooking up.

The Project That Finally Felt “Right”

Gosling didn’t avoid franchises because he thought he was above them. According to his comments, it simply came down to timing and fit.

Big franchises came and went, but none of them felt like the right creative match — until Starfighter landed on his desk.

And that’s where Shawn Levy enters the story.

Levy, known for Deadpool & Wolverine and The Adam Project, is directing the upcoming film and has been developing the project for several years alongside Lucasfilm. His enthusiasm for the material and his vision for a fresh Star Wars story reportedly played a major role in convincing Gosling to sign on.

The script also mattered. A lot.

Gosling emphasized that the screenplay and overall concept made the project feel special enough to justify stepping into a universe as massive and scrutinized as Star Wars.

A Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity

For any actor, leading a Star Wars film is a career-defining moment.

But for Gosling, it seems to carry even more weight. He described the project as something worth waiting for — comparing it to finally finding the right book after passing on many others.

That patience paid off.

Instead of jumping into just any blockbuster franchise, he’s entering one of the most iconic cinematic universes of all time at a moment when Lucasfilm is actively reshaping the future of Star Wars storytelling.

And if early buzz is anything to go by, Starfighter is meant to feel different from previous entries.

A New Kind of Star Wars Movie

Star Wars: Starfighter isn’t a sequel. It’s not a prequel either.

The film is set roughly five years after The Rise of Skywalker and will focus on entirely new characters and a previously unexplored era of the galaxy.

That standalone approach appears to be intentional. Lucasfilm has been gradually shifting away from heavy Skywalker Saga connections and toward new stories that can stand on their own.

For Gosling, that likely made the project even more appealing.

Rather than stepping into an established legacy role, he’ll be helping define something new — a fresh corner of the Star Wars timeline with its own tone, characters, and identity.

Why This Casting Matters

Ryan Gosling joining Star Wars isn’t just another casting headline. It signals something bigger about where the franchise is heading.

Lucasfilm is clearly aiming to bring in major Hollywood talent and pair it with directors who can deliver standalone cinematic experiences. With Shawn Levy at the helm and Gosling leading the cast, Starfighter is shaping up to be one of the most high-profile Star Wars film projects of the late 2020s.

And the strategy makes sense.

Big-name actors who don’t typically sign onto franchises bring a different kind of credibility and curiosity to a project. When someone like Gosling says yes — after years of saying no — it sends a message that this story might be something special.

Worth the Wait

At the end of the day, Gosling’s reasoning is surprisingly simple.

He waited for the right story. The right director. The right moment.

And when those pieces finally came together in the form of Star Wars: Starfighter, he decided it was time to jump into hyperspace.

For fans, that patience could pay off in a big way. Because if this really is the once-in-a-lifetime Star Wars project Gosling describes, we may be looking at one of the most interesting new chapters in the franchise’s cinematic future.

Now the only real question left is this:

Was Star Wars worth the wait for Ryan Gosling?

We’ll find out in 2027.

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