‘Star Wars: Starfighter’ Is Already Outspending ‘The Force Awakens’, and Ryan Gosling’s Galaxy Adventure Isn’t Finished Yet

For years, the galaxy far, far away has lived mostly on the small screen, with Disney+ serving as the home base for the franchise since ‘The Rise of Skywalker’. That’s what made ‘Star Wars: Starfighter’ feel like such a big swing, and now the price tag behind Ryan Gosling’s upcoming space adventure is coming into focus. Lucasfilm first unveiled the project at Star Wars Celebration in Chiba, Japan, where Gosling and director Shawn Levy took the stage to tease an all-new story.

Since then, Lucasfilm has kept things remarkably quiet. Cameras started rolling in the U.K. in August 2025, yet only one photograph from the production has been released, showing Gosling alongside Flynn Gray on set.

Thankfully for curious fans, companies producing movies in the U.K. are required to file yearly financial accounts, and since ‘Star Wars’ films often shoot at Pinewood Studios near London, those documents offer a rare peek at Disney’s spending.

According to a new report from Forbes, Disney had spent $226.5 million on ‘Star Wars: Starfighter’ by the time filming wrapped at Pinewood Studios. The figure covers costs racked up through January 31, 2026, based on filings from the film’s U.K. production company. In British currency, that works out to roughly 164.9 million pounds.

That number shrinks a bit once government incentives enter the picture. The U.K. tax relief for ‘Starfighter’ came to $51.5 million (£37.5 million), a refund equal to 22.7% of costs so far, with more on the way. After those incentives, the net spend currently sits at $175 million.

The filings also reveal where some of that money went. The single biggest expense listed was $17.6 million in staff costs, while the movie employed an average monthly workforce of 239 people.

The comparisons are where things get interesting. Even after tax incentives, ‘Starfighter’ has spent more at this stage of production than both ‘The Force Awakens’ and ‘The Last Jedi’. ‘The Rise of Skywalker’, however, had spent more at the same point, eventually reaching around $593.7 million before tax credits, or about $490 million after.

The new trailer for ‘THE MANDALORIAN & GROGU’ has been released. In theaters on May 22. https://t.co/Jel6y3hPtF

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) February 17, 2026

Fans shouldn’t treat this as the final bill, either. The total leaves out post-production, visual effects work done after filming, and marketing. Costs are expected to keep rising as post-production continues, while the tax rebates should also grow. The report arrives at a moment when the theatrical prospects of ‘Star Wars’ remain somewhat uncertain, which only raises the stakes.

So what exactly is Disney paying for? The film is set roughly 5 years after ‘Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker’, exploring a completely new adventure with original characters in a period of the timeline audiences haven’t seen before. With no governing force maintaining order in the galaxy, the two leads get their hands on a decommissioned enemy starfighter and set off on an adventure.

The ensemble is stacked. Gosling stars and serves as an executive producer, joined by Flynn Gray, Matt Smith, Mia Goth, Aaron Pierre, Amy Adams, Simon Bird, Jamael Westman and Daniel Ings. Levy directs and produces alongside Kathleen Kennedy, with Jonathan Tropper writing the screenplay.

The release date carries plenty of symbolic weight as well. ‘Star Wars: Starfighter’ opens Friday, May 28, 2027, landing on the weekend of the original film’s 50th anniversary. The celebrations kick off earlier, with the original ‘Star Wars’ returning to theaters on February 19, 2027, and Star Wars Celebration running April 1-4 in Los Angeles. With that much history riding on it, Lucasfilm clearly isn’t treating ‘Starfighter’ as a small side story.

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