Let’s be sincere, Star Wars might use a break proper now. The franchise has struggled since 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker, and the involvement of an enormous identify star might solely assist restore some status to the model. Positive, the upcoming movie Star Wars: Starfighter does have a marquee identify in star Ryan Gosling, and director Shawn Levy has credit on hits like Stranger Issues and Deadpool & Wolverine, however even they pale compared to Tom Cruise. So it’s a superb factor that Tom Cruise determined to become involved within the taking pictures of Starfighter… it’s too unhealthy he’s simply behind the digital camera.
In a profile for the New York Instances, Levy revealed that Cruise came visiting the Starfighter set and, in typical Tom Cruise vogue, determined to shoot a scene. “Final week Steven Spielberg was right here. And now Tom Cruise is wielding a digital camera, ruining his very good sneakers,” Levy mentioned of the various guests who got here to his manufacturing. The profile then goes on to explain Cruise wanting to observe Levy shoot a scene involving a lightsaber combat in a small physique of water. Levy “urged the star soar on one of many cameras. He’d meant it as a joke,” the profile explains; “However there was Cruise, wading into the muddy pond, holding the digital camera like a professional.”
So whereas Tom Cruise received’t truly seem in Starfighter, the thrill can solely assist the manufacturing. The place the following Star Wars film The Mandalorian and Grogu, and most of the reveals for Disney+, are likely to happen round safer materials corresponding to the unique trilogy and the (now-reclaimed) prequel trilogy, Starfighter will observe the occasions of the disastrous Rise of Skywalker. Set 5 years after that movie’s ending, the film follows Gosling’s pilot on a harmful mission essential for the rebuilding of society after the autumn of the First Order. Alongside the best way, he’ll cross paths with a brand new villain performed by Matt Smith.
That sparse plot description provides us simply sufficient to be hopeful however not sufficient to be assured. One of many main issues with The Rise of Skywalker was its refusal to let the franchise develop previous the Skywalker household, explicitly reversing The Final Jedi‘s makes an attempt to make Rey a traditional individual. Starfighter sounded prefer it may harken again to the World Battle II fighter pilot motion pictures that have been such an enormous inspiration for George Lucas when making the primary Star Wars in 1977. Additional, it could concentrate on a traditional man on a mission, not a Skywalker scion or a member of the Jedi Order.
