Ryan Gosling has long been one of Hollywood’s most bankable leading men, but he has never been the face of a sprawling franchise.
Gosling has starred in blockbuster tentpoles like Blade Runner 2049 and played Ken in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, he’s never reprised a role.
His reluctance to join long-running franchises has been a hallmark of his career.
The three-time Oscar nominee revealed why he’s resisted multi-film commitments.
He said they “never felt right” before Shawn Levy’s upcoming Star Wars: Starfighter.
It was Levy’s vision which convinced him otherwise.
“It was Shawn’s enthusiasm and his vision and the script,” Gosling told io9.
“And I just avoided these things because they never felt right. And I’m glad I did because I feel like, [similar to] a book like this, [it was] worth waiting for. And it is like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Levy’s Star Wars: Starfighter, a standalone film set five years after The Rise of Skywalker, went into production last fall.
It is slated for release on May 28, 2027.
Written by Jonathan Tropper, the film boasts a stacked cast including Gosling, Matt Smith, Mia Goth, Aaron Pierre, Simon Bird, Jamael Westman, Daniel Ings, Flynn Gray and Amy Adams.
Gosling praised the project as “such a great story with great and original characters.”
He added that it’s filled with “so much heart and adventure.”
Eva Mendes’ partner also called Levy “the perfect filmmaker for this particular story.”
