Matt Smith is officially headed to a galaxy far, far away. The House of the Dragon and former Doctor Who star has landed a major villain role in Star Wars: Starfighter, the highly anticipated standalone film set within the iconic space opera universe. He joins a star-studded cast that includes Ryan Gosling and Mia Goth.
Directed by Shawn Levy, the film is set to begin production later this year and is scheduled for release in May 2027. While exact details about Matt’s character remain under wraps, sources confirm he’ll portray one of the primary antagonists in the story.
Levy, known for Free Guy and The Adam Project, has promised fans a bold new direction.
“This is not a prequel, this is not a sequel. It’s a new adventure,” he teased, adding that the movie will be completely separate from previous Star Wars films and series.
Set five years after The Rise of Skywalker (2019), Starfighter will carve out its own space in the Star Wars timeline, without relying on legacy characters or ongoing storylines. Levy and screenwriter Jonathan Tropper have been crafting the project since 2022, with a focus on fresh themes and original storytelling.
“I didn’t want to make a Star Wars movie that’s redundant or serves another film. I wanted something that felt organic to me — in tone and in character,” Levy said.
Though details remain scarce, the film promises all the hallmarks of Star Wars: the Force, epic battles, and larger-than-life characters, but through a completely new lens. Gosling, who called Levy the “perfect filmmaker” for this story, is expected to play a heroic lead, while Goth’s role is still under wraps.
For Smith, this marks a return to major genre territory after his acclaimed roles in Doctor Who, The Crown, Morbius, and House of the Dragon. Now stepping into the Star Wars universe, he’s poised to bring a new kind of darkness to the franchise — and fans are already buzzing about what kind of villain he’ll become.
