Deadpool and Wolverine director Shawn Levy says his Star Wars film "inherits legacy themes," but is "really trying" to be "something fresh, something new"

Deadpool and Wolverine director Shawn Levy's Star Wars: Starfighter film is going all-in on bringing something new to a galaxy far, far away.

As revealed in an interview with Collider, Levy's mission statement for the Ryan Gosling-led Star Wars adventure is to bring something fresh to the franchise while still nodding towards what Levy describes as "legacy themes."

"It is different in that it is an all-new non-sequel, non-prequel adventure," Levy explained. "It's new characters, it's a new timeline. It inherits legacy themes, but it's really trying to give Star Wars [fans] – and just movie audiences – something fresh, something new. And with a spirit of play and big-hearted adventure with moments of real levity that, frankly, A New Hope had in a revolutionary way."

Levy added, "But it's a huge, invigorating opportunity because Lucasfilm has been so encouraging of me doing something new. There's no pressure to be derivative or limited by an obligation to what came before. There's just a love of what came before."

Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy has already confirmed Star Wars: Starfighter would be set after the events of The Rise of Skywalker on the Star Wars timeline with a brand-new cast of characters.

"That’s also in the future. It’s all post-[the first] nine. Shawn’s is a standalone Star Wars story that'll take place post-nine, maybe five or six years out," Kennedy told Deadline.

Starring Ryan Gosling, Flynn Gray, Matt Smith, Aaron Pierre, Mia Goth, and Amy Adams, Star Wars: Starfighter is currently filming and is set to be released on May 28, 2027.

Next up for Star Wars is The Mandalorian and Grogu, a big-screen adventure starring Pedro Pascal's Din Djarin alongside his adoptive son, Grogu. The film also stars Sigourney Weaver and Jeremy Allan White as Rotta the Hutt.

For more, check out our complete guide to upcoming Star Wars movies.