Ryan Gosling is in talks to joinStar Wars, and that completely breaks with George Lucas' traditions. The future ofStar Warsremains a mystery right now; we knowThe Mandalorian & Groguis releasing in May 2026, but nobody knows what comes next. That said, a recent disturbance in the Force may have given a massive clue - with reports thatRyan Gosling is in talks to joinStar Wars, potentially set to star in Shawn Levy’s mysterious movie.
Precious little is known about Levy’s film. It seems to be becoming his focus after the success ofDeadpool & Wolverine, and Levy hinted it’s astandalone set apart in theStar Warstimeline. As he explained:
“There’s only so many times that Star Wars movies can revisit the same section of the timeline, and so it’s really forced me — because I don’t want to do a Star Wars movie that is redundant to others, nor am I interested in doing one that has to serve another movie.”
The idea of Gosling as the star is an absolute game-changer, though - and not just because it suggests the future is in motion once again.
This Is A Very Different Casting Decision
Star Warstends to go for relative unknowns when it comes to the stars.Back in the 1970s, George Lucas wanted to prioritize finding the right actors for the roles rather than banking on star power. Granted, it didn’t help that the firstStar Warsmovie didn’t command a big enough budget to draw in the big names. Alec Guinness was the exception, and he was far from impressed by the experience.
Fast-forward to the prequel trilogy, and there were really only two major established actors in significant roles: Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn and Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu. Neeson was chosen for the part because Lucas felt he was the perfect actor, not because he was a household name, while Jackson’s relatively minor role was in recognition of his being a lifelongStar Warsfan.Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor had promising resumes, but nothing to distract from the biggerStar Warsbrand.
Lucas did consider casting Leonardo DiCaprio as Anakin for the prequels, but Christensen got the role instead.
Ryan Gosling is different.Gosling has starred in countless movies, many with significant cultural impact - who can forget 2016’s incredibleLa La Land? His career has recently been bolstered by the phenomenal success ofBarbie, which grossed almost $1.5 billion in the global box office. He’s reportedly turned down People’s “Sexiest Man Alive” award multiple times. This casting decision feels so very different to anything Lucas would have done.
Disney Star Wars Has Been Moving In This Direction For A While
Rogue One Was The Closest Comparison
There’s a sense in which Disney’s Lucasfilm has been moving in this direction for a while. The closest comparison to Gosling lies in the decision to cast Felicity Jones as Jyn Erso inRogue One: A Star Wars Story; she was only considered for the role because ofThe Theory of Everything. “I was only offered that role because I’d been nominated,” Jones recently toldThe Telegraph, “That gave the producers the confidence that I could carry it. So I’ve learned the larger films enable the smaller ones to happen, and vice versa.”
Lucasfilm faced far more constraints when it came to the remaining sequel trilogy movies (although there are rumors Gosling had been considered for Kylo Ren), whileSolo: A Star Wars Storyneeded to prioritize actors who could look like a young Han Solo and Lando Calrissian. Even that featured Emilia Clarke as Qi’ra, Han’s first love, and she was fresh from success in the then-ongoingGame of Thrones. Soit’s clear Lucasfilm has been pushing toward star power casting for the movies for quite some time.
Why Lucasfilm Is Moving Away From George Lucas' Approach
Star Power Is Becoming To Matter Again
The 2010s were a time of disruption for Hollywood, and for a while it genuinely looked as though star power was dead;the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe seemed to set up a new status quo where the franchises were more important than the actors. Some big names in Hollywood feared being eclipsed, andWill Smith even tried to launch anAfter Earthfranchise. But all that appears to have changed in recent years, and we’re returning to star power and big names once again. Gosling’s discussions with Lucasfilm should really be seen in that context.
To be fair,the impact of franchises was probably overstated. The MCU notably stumbled after the departures of Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans, after all, suggesting there was a more complex relationship between franchises and stars than had generally been recognized. Most successful studios understood this, placing the faces of their actors front-and-center in marketing, and unmasking them liberally (even when it didn’t always make narrative sense).
Matters are probably compounded by the sad truth thatStar Warshas gone through something of a rough period. Lucasfilm seemed to lose confidence in the movies after the box office failure ofSolo: A Star Wars Storyand poor critical reception forStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. The studio pivoted to Disney+ TV shows for the last five years, and these have been successful, albeit with diminishing returns. 2026’sThe Mandalorian & Groguwill markStar Wars' return to the big screen - but Lucasfilm can be forgiven for wanting some star power in their movies just in case.
The Mandalorian & Grogufeatures Sigourney Weaver, another big-name actor, although we don’t yet know what part she’s playing or how significant her role will be. Now Ryan Gosling is in talks to joinStar Warsas well. It feels as though a Rubicon has been crossed, and nowStar Warswill acknowledge its own cultural significance by drawing in bigger names than ever before. That’s a decided shift from George Lucas' approach, albeit an understandable one, and it signals a change in the nature of Hollywood itself. This has clearly become a very interesting time forStar Wars.
