Shawn Levy had to rework the entire final act of Star Wars: Starfighter

Writer and director Shawn Levy had to rework the final act of Star Wars: Starfighter, and he had a surprising view on the situation.

A Star Wars movie facing rewrites in 2025 is as predictable as Stranger Things Season 5 using 1980s bangers on its soundtrack. The franchise has braved some uncertain waters in the last few years, with numerous films and projects being reworked, canceled, or getting stuck in the World Between Worlds, also known as development hell.

However, Star Wars: Starfighter has got further than most big-screen ideas have in the galaxy far, far away, since it’s actually in production and will arrive in theaters in May 2027. The film takes place after 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker, but the plot is being kept under wraps for now.

It’ll see Ryan Gosling’s character (presumably the pilot of said Starfighter) on an adventure with a youngster played by Flynn Gray. But Levy recently revealed that he found problems with the original ending for Starfighter and he had to come up with something entirely new.

Shawn Levy is “grateful” that the original Star Wars: Starfighter ending didn’t work

Levy admitted to reworking the ending during an episode of On Film… With Kevin McCarthy, explaining that he recognized something in the ending of Jonathan Tropper’s original script wasn’t working.

“We had a whole different idea for something in the third act and then things didn’t align and I was forced to come up with a new idea. And I’m literally right now shooting that section of the movie,” he said.

“And everyday I’m grateful that the way I was supposed to do it didn’t work out, because the new idea that it forced me to explore is so much better than the original idea would have been.”

McCarthy didn’t explain whether the problem laid in the third act’s writing, the setting, or a specific action sequence. But elsewhere in the conversation he revealed which film in the franchise Starfighter is the most similar too.

“If I’m being honest, I know the cool answer would be Empire. Sure. And sort of the inarguable answer would be New Hope. But it’s kind of [Return of the] Jedi. It’s Jedi, because the combination of theme, levity, adventure, heart, spectacle. Somehow that movie just got it right for me.”

Levy is certainly setting expectations high by comparing it to the final film of the original trilogy, but it’ll at least keep fans intrigued. Although there’s still a while to wait for Starfighter, Star Wars fans don’t have to worry because The Mandalorian & Grogu flies into theaters on May 22, 2026.

Until then, keep up to date with all the upcoming Star Wars TV shows and movies, learn about the Game of Thrones star who almost appeared in Andor, and check out our ranking of the best Star Wars characters.