The strange career of Ryan Gosling has veered from indie darlings (Half Nelson) to romances (The Notebook) to massive franchise wins (Barbie) to disappointing franchise misses (Blade Runner 2049) and back again (sort of). He has been to space in a historical manner, playing Neil Armstrong in First Man, and now he is considering another trip to fictional space: The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that Gosling is in talks to star in director Shawn Levy’s Star Wars film.
As Variety rightly noted, this puts Levy in “the rarefied club of directors who’ve worked with both Canadian movie stars named Ryan.” He’s directed the other Canadian Ryan—that would be Reynolds—in a bunch of movies, including Deadpool & Wolverine and The Adam Project.
Levy’s Star War, which has been in development for a couple of years, reunites him with one of his Adam Project screenwriters, author Jonathan Tropper. Reportedly, it is a standalone project not beholden to any Skywalkers. Other than that, plot details are hidden in Wild Space.
Reynolds is also set to star in Project Hail Mary, based on the Andy Weir novel, so perhaps he is moving into a science fictional era of his career. Or maybe he just wants to swing a lightsaber. Will he be a Jedi? A Sith? A galactic bureaucrat? I kind of hope he’s evil. It’s been a minute since Ken got weird.
Levy’s Star War does not yet have a release date; the only upcoming Star Wars film with a set date is The Mandalorian and Grogu, which will be in theaters on May 22, 2026.
