
Shawn Levy has spoken to Rebecca Ford at Vanity Fair from the set of Star Wars: Starfighter sharing “I am in this galaxy full-time, all the time—when I’m awake, when I’m asleep—and I’m quite happily living there.” Here’s an excerpt from the interview…
Did you always dream of directing a Star Wars movie?
When word got out that Disney had acquired Lucasfilm and they were going to sort of relaunch the film franchise, I was one of dozens of directors who raised their hand and let it be known to anyone who would listen that that would be a dream. But then the dream sort of receded because nothing came of it, and I kept busy doing lots of my own stuff. So to get that call from Kathleen Kennedy in August of 2022, I literally remember where I was. She said, “I want you to do a Star Wars movie.” I asked the obvious question: “Which one? What’s it a prequel to? What’s it a sequel to?” And the immediate answer was, “Whatever one you want. Make it feel like your movies feel.” It was just this incredibly empowering opportunity.
Did that feel like the way it was meant to happen, because you got to make things like Deadpool & Wolverine and Stranger Things first?
One hundred percent. I’m not in the early stages of my career, but it turns out I’m not in the late stages either. I’m enjoying this very surprising decade. It sort of started with Stranger Things and Arrival as a producer, where I’m finally getting the opportunity to direct stories in a range of tone. For a long time, I was the family-comedy guy, and those movies were so successful that it was a very comfortable pigeonhole. This decades-long experience of directing incredible movie stars, of directing franchise films, directing complicated visual effects and special effects action movies, these all prepared me for this moment.
What was it like when you stepped on set for the first day of shooting?
Every day on set with Star Wars, I’ve got my 10-year-old self next to me. I’m sort of inspired and—in the midst of a huge amount of stress—gleeful. Younger me is there every day, and he’s losing his mind with excitement.
When Kathleen Kennedy came to you and said “make your movie,” what ended up being your pitch to her?
I knew the feeling that she wanted. I know the aspects of my work that have worked and that she was alluding to. It is sort of a combination of humor and heart, within adventure. The first step was, I chose [screenwriter] Jonathan Tropper, with whom I’ve done small movies and big movies. We just started talking, and it led to months of dreaming and brainstorming and rejecting ideas and embracing others. And little by little, it led us to a theme that was really interesting to me and some characters that were interesting to me. I can’t give anything more than that away.
You’re also well-versed in keeping a secret.
The greatest gift that Stranger Things gave me is shutting my mouth in public.
Read the interview in full here. Star Wars: Starfighter lands in cinemas on May 28th, 2027.
Image: Ryan Gosling and Shawn Levy from Star Wars Celebration Japan.
The post Shawn Levy on Star Wars: Starfighter – “I am in this galaxy full-time, all the time’ appeared first on Jedi News.
