Shawn Levy Talks About Experience On 'Star Wars: Starfighter' Set
Image Source: CultureSlate
With the release of the fifth and final season of Stranger Things, a decade-long journey to Hawkins, Indiana, and the Upside Down comes to an end for Shawn Levy.
But the producer/director is in no danger of running out of work. His company, 21 Laps Entertainment, is about to start production on a high school hockey drama series starring Michelle Monaghan. At the same time, the company is developing a limited series based on Madonna. This comes after the Queen of Pop allowed Levy and Ryan Reynolds to use her song “Like a Prayer” for last year's Deadpool and Wolverine.
But this is the future. Right now, Levy is 100% committed to Star Wars: Starfighter, which is set to hit cinemas in May 2027. And although 57 years old is quite familiar with working on big-budget, special effects-heavy blockbusters, the next Star Wars movie after The Mandalorian and Grogu is still a different kind of beast:
“Directing and producing Star Wars requires an exclusivity of focus unlike anything I’ve ever done. 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.”
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Image source: Vanity Fair
On the other hand, working on a Star Wars movie is a dream come true for many creatives in the film industry, and Levy is not shy of confessing so: “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.”
It took some time until Lucasfilm “allowed” Levy to work in the sandbox that George Lucas created, giving the director time to work on other projects, after he had been labeled as the “family-comedy guy” (after the Night at the Museum films) at the beginning of his career.
“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.”
But then, in August 2022, Levy got the call from Kathleen Kennedy asking him to make a Star Wars movie, to which he asked the obvious question: “Which one? What’s it a prequel to? What’s it a sequel to?”
But the Lucasfilm CEO gave him practically free rein: “Whatever one you want. Make it feel like your movies feel.”
Image Source: Reddit
So, Levy and his long-time writing collaborator, Jonathan Tropper, sat down and started discussing ideas.
“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. It is sort of a combination of humor and heart, within adventure.”
And in fact, Starfighter will be the first Star Wars movie since 1977 that is not related to any previous project, be it film or TV show. Not much is known about the project, other than it will take place five years after The Rise of Skywalker and Ryan Gosling will be the main lead, tasked with protecting a young boy, played by Flynn Gray. Other cast members include Matt Smith, Mia Goth, Aaron Pierre, and Amy Adams.
And Levy is quite keen on not giving away too much about his love project:
“The greatest gift that Stranger Things gave me is shutting my mouth in public.”
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Source: Vanity Fair
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