Ryan Gosling to star in new "Star Wars" movie

Though details are scarce, there are still some that have been dropped. The movie will be called "Star Wars: Starfighter," which is a little clunky what with the double "star" but everybody will just end up calling it "Starfighter" anyway. Gosling will be the star of "Star Wars: Starfighter" (ahh, now we're doing it too!) but no other cast is known. The film takes place a few years after "Rise of Skywalker" and will feature new characters. Also, the film already has a release date:

Gosling, who showed up to the Star Wars Celebration event in Tokyo where this sort of news gets laid out, is clearly up for the process of promoting this movie and dealing with "Star Wars" fandom, such as it is. He's, if not a movie star, close enough to work under the auspices of this massive property that, to a degree, sells itself. Gosling is a good actor, and he can do the funny, roguish thing quite well. Watch "The Nice Guys" or "The Fall Guy" for proof of that. Gosling starring in "Starfighter" is a good starting point, and if you want to just feel good and happy and be excited you can totally just dip out here and go on your way.

...Okay, so here's the concern. This movie is being directed by Shawn Levy. That is not surprising given the consternation caused by Rian Johnson's "The Last Jedi." Irrespective of one's thoughts on that movie (We think it's solid) he's a director with a vision and a feel. Levy is more like Ron Howard, but less talented. He's a cipher of a director with no real style. Levy has directed "Date Night," the "Night at the Museum" movies, and "Free Guy," to name a few. He also handled "Deadpool and Wolverine," which made Disney a ton of money.

Levy doesn't ruffle feather. If you task him to direct a movie to completion, he will and...that's his primary selling point. Hand him a B+ script, he delivers a B movie. Hand him a C script, he hands you a C- movie. You get the picture. 

On that front, the "Starfighter" screenwriter is Jonathan Tropper. Tropper and Levy have worked together on two movies. "The Adam Project," which admittedly had four credited screenwriters but is the nothing-est pile of nothing ever captured on screen. And then, there's "This Is Where I Leave You" which is aggressively bad. Like, you think to yourself "I wish they made more theatrical comedies" and then you see "This Is Where I Leave You" and you come to think that not only should comedies no longer be made, but that an alien spieces wiping out humanity would be an act of benevolence.

All that is to say "Star Wars: Strarfighter" might just not be good, even with Gosling in the mix. We'll hold out hope, but, um, well, this was fun, right?

(h/t Variety)