Matt Smith Joins Star Wars: Starfighter as the Saga’s New Big Villain
Matt Smith is finally heading to a galaxy far, far away. According to Deadline, the Doctor Who and The Crown star has been cast as the main villain in the upcoming Star Wars movie Starfighter. He will be joining Ryan Gosling and Mia Goth in the new film.
This marks Smith’s second time being connected to the Star Wars universe. He was once attached to The Rise of Skywalker but never made it into the final film. Back in 2021, Smith explained on the Happy Sad Confused podcast that “We were close to being in it, but it never quite happened. Eventually, the part became obsolete and they didn’t need it. So, I never got to be in Star Wars.”
He didn’t reveal exactly who he was supposed to play, but many fans speculated it was a major role tied to Emperor Palpatine.
Remember those reports that Matt Smith was going to be in THE RISE OF SKYWALKER? He told me his role was a big deal, representing “a big shift in the history of the [STAR WARS] franchise.”
— Josh Horowitz (@joshuahorowitz) November 3, 2021
WHO WAS HE GOING TO PLAY?!
Full video chat at https://t.co/e84WokCDhq pic.twitter.com/JGKiwPSba9
Star Wars: Starfighter will be directed by Shawn Levy, who is fresh off the success of Marvel’s Deadpool & Wolverine and his work on Stranger Things. The script comes from Jonathan Tropper, who previously worked with Levy on The Adam Project.
According to Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, the story takes place “five to six years” after The Rise of Skywalker. That means the events happen well after the Skywalker saga ended, opening the door for new characters and new conflicts.
Filming is set to start this fall, and the movie is scheduled to hit theaters on May 28, 2027. Kennedy and Lucasfilm’s chief creative officer Dave Filoni officially revealed the project during the annual Star Wars Celebration in Tokyo earlier this year.
Smith’s new role will finally let him make his mark on the franchise in a big way. His co-star Ryan Gosling joined the project earlier this year, with Deadline reporting that Gosling’s involvement helped speed up development. Mia Goth also came aboard not long after.
While we still don’t know much about the plot, the movie is described as a standalone story focusing on new characters rather than revisiting the Skywalker family. Given the timeline, it could explore the political and military fallout in the galaxy after the fall of the First Order.
Levy’s last movie, Deadpool & Wolverine, became the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time with $1.3 billion worldwide, so expectations for his take on Star Wars are high. For Smith, it’s a chance to finally step into the role of a major Star Wars villain, something he almost did years ago but never got the chance to play out.
First reported by Deadline.
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