Shawn Levy, the director of movies like “Free Guy” and multiple episodes of “Stranger Things,” was working on “Star Wars: Starfighter,” his Ryan Gosling-led entry in the franchise (set for release in 2027), when he had a special visitor drop by the set – Tom Cruise. And instead of merely visiting, he put the star to work.
“Last week, Steven Spielberg was here. And now Tom Cruise is wielding a camera, ruining his very nice shoes,” Levy told the New York Times on Thursday.
The scene that Cruise operated a camera on involved a lightsaber duel in a boggy marsh. “Now when you see the movie, you’ll know that part of it was shot by Tom. I mean, how cool is that?” Levy told the outlet.
“Star Wars: Starfighter,” due on May 28, 2027, will only be the second “Star Wars” feature released into theaters since “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” was released in December 2019. (The first, “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” an offshoot of the popular Disney+ series, hits theaters this May.)
“Starfighter” stars Matt Smith, Aaron Pierre, Flynn Gray, Mia Goth and Amy Adams. It was written by frequent Levy collaborator Jonathan Tropper, with Claudio Miranda as cinematographer and Thomas Newman providing the score.
Levy’s last film, also for parent company Disney, was Marvel Studios’ “Deadpool & Wolverine,” which made $1.33 billion when it was released in the summer of 2024. He also directed the fourth and sixth episode of “Stranger Things 5,” and co-directed the seventh with the show’s creators The Duffer Brothers.
