From Doctor Who to Marvel to Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon, Matt Smith has been involved in some of the world's most prestigious sci-fi and fantasy franchises. And soon, he'll make his debut foray into perhaps the biggest of them all: the Star Wars universe.
Set for release in 2027, Star Wars: Starfighter is helmed Stranger Things and Deadpool & Wolverine director a Shawn Levy. While plot details are very sparse at the moment, the movie has a stellar cast surrounding it, including Ryan Gosling, Mia Goth, Amy Adams, Simon Bird, and exciting young superstar Flynn Gray.
Also involved is Matt Smith. The British actor has a long list of productions that he's involved in, not least the lengthy process of filming House of the Dragon, but going into December 2025, the actor's focus is fully on Star: Wars: Starfighter. "I'm about to do Star Wars in December, and we're sort of trying to develop the look for that," Smith said in a recent interview with A Rabbit's Foot. Right now, he's trying to find the perfect costume; a time-consuming task in its own right. "We're going through the process of trying to find a costume, and sometimes you don't know if you love a costume until you’ve worn it for a couple of days."
Filming on Star Wars: Starfighter began back in August 2025 in the United Kingdom, before shifting location to Sardinia, Italy, where it captures scenes along the beauty of the Mediterranean Sea. Director Shawn Levy previously revealed a set photo from the movie, starring Ryan Gosling as an unnamed hero. Take a look:
Despite all of this filming taking place, Matt Smith has yet to make his first steps onto the set. It's unclear who he is playing, nor whether it's a big role, but perhaps we'll get a little more clarity when he begins filming his scenes.
Shawn Levy teases Star Wars: Starfighter
Much like other recent Star Wars projects, Starfighter carves out its own corner of the franchise. The characters are new, and it doesn't link to other movies. You can go into it blind without the burden of having to see numerous movies beforehand.
"It is different in that it is an all-new non-sequel, non-prequel adventure," Levy teased to Collider. "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."
"But it's a huge, invigorating opportunity because Lucasfilm has been so encouraging of me doing something new," he added. "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."
Star Wars: Starfighter is due to release on May 28, 2027. Before then, we'll first see Matt Smith reprise his role as Daemon Targaryen in House of the Dragon season 3.