Is Ryan Gosling Star Wars’ Next Star?
Remember Shawn Levy’s Star Wars movie project? This film has been in pre-production for about two years now, and it may have found its male lead. An exclusive from The Hollywood Reporter reveals that Barbie and Blade Runner 2049 actor Ryan Gosling is in talks to star in the unnamed standalone Star Wars movie. There were rumors that this film was involved with the Rey Skywalker trilogy, but Lucasfilm insists that Shawn Levy’s entry in the franchise is a standalone story. Gosling’s potential casting supports that claim. Jonathan Trooper is writing the script, and Levy will produce it via his production company, 21 Laps, along with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. Trooper previously collaborated with Levy on This Is Where I Leave You and The Adam Project.
I know I should feel strongly about this one way or the other, but I really don’t. I know Ryan Gosling is talented, but he tends to be in movies I don’t like. I’m thinking of Barbie, La La Land, The Notebook, and Blade Runner: The Unnecessary and Unwanted Epilogue. First Man was awesome, though. All this is to say that I don’t care if Ryan Gosling is in something; it doesn’t condemn a project for me, but I’m not going to be excited by his presence, either. And at the moment, the less I say about Star Wars, the better; I’ve enjoyed a couple of the Disney+ shows, but Disney has failed to make any good Star Wars movies. I’ve loved Star Wars my whole life, and I dug Skeleton Crew, the most recent show. But I don’t know how to feel when new Star Wars projects are announced because of the last decade or so. I don’t know much about Shawn Levy, but I enjoyed last summer’s Marvel film Deadpool & Wolverine, which he also directed. So, while I would normally be excited for or dreading an upcoming Star Wars project, I’m in wait-and-see mode right now – not just to see how it is, but whether they actually make it. That’s because another big problem at Lucasfilm is that they announce projects that never materialize or, in some cases, are never even mentioned again. One of these things has to come out eventually, and they say if this one happens, it will be the next Star Wars film to go into production. The Mandalorian and Grogu, which has wrapped filming, is the only one of these that I actually believe exists. I’ll believe these other movies are actually happening when they’re in theaters.
We don’t even know where this Shawn Levy film would be set in the Star Wars timeline. It could take place anywhere between the Old Republic and well into the “future,” past the events of the “Skywalker Saga,” as Disney calls it. As of now, Lucasfilm has only confirmed its status as a one-off, unconnected to legacy characters and the main story. This project was essentially collecting dust, making no progress after two years of development. Ryan Gosling’s interest in a role has made this film a priority. Prior to this, Shawn Levy was going to make a boy band movie for Paramount with Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, his Deadpool & Wolverine stars. Now that his Star Wars film is back on the front burner, it’ll be interesting to see how it fills out its cast now that Gosling is involved – again, should this be the odd Star Wars movie that actually gets made.
But what do you think of this news? Do you like Ryan Gosling, and would he be a good fit for Star Wars? Sound off in the comments!
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Comments (1)
I am a fan is his, I suppose. I liked BladeRunner and other movies, but Fall Guy flopped. I like Jude Law too and that didn’t work. It’s a move in the right direction. It would take someone like Gosling, Jackman, Reynolds or all three to somehow revive Star Wars.
Still think though that they are looking the wrong way and that Star Wars needs Drew Karpyshyn in the Kathleen Kennedy role. If Kathy did that, replaced herself with Drew, I think it would be a huge move and she’d get my respect.
If there’s anything Star Wars has taught us, it’s that casting is only one part of it. The whole package matters. It’s hard to get it right these days. We did get LOTR and Marvel for a while though. Those were great moments and memories of good production.