Last December, Empire‘s Ben Travis asked the question ‘Can film save cinema?’, digging into the recent revival of interest in films shot on, well, film, and presented on the biggest screens possible. And now, with the likes of Project Hail Mary and Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey having just supercharged Hollywood’s biggest year at the box office in recent memory, Lucasfilm is preparing to get in on the action. In 2027, George Lucas’ Star Wars and Shawn Levy’s Star Wars: Starfighter will both release in IMAX and IMAX 70mm, marking the first film in the franchise’s debut in the format as the saga celebrates its 50th anniversary. Check out the announcement below;
For those wondering, the IMAX release of Star Wars (1977), currently set for 19 February 2027, will be the previously announced restoration of George Lucas’ original space opera — so no CG Jabba the Hutt jumpscares to fear, there, then. As for Star Wars: Starfighter, “filmed for IMAX release, shot with IMAX-certified film cameras and converted to IMAX 70mm film prints for release in a select number of IMAX film locations” as per Star Wars’ official website, Levy’s Ryan Gosling led standalone blockbuster is still on course to hit the big screen on 28 May, 2027, the same weekend the OG Star Wars had its premiere. You could say it’s like poetry, it rhymes…
At this point, we still know precious little about Starfighter, beyond its post-The Rise Of Skywalker setting and a short synopsis teasing “when a cynical rogue is confronted by his mysterious past, he is hurled into a dangerous adventure across the galaxy that puts him on a crash course with destiny.” On the other hand, we think it’s safe to say we’re a little more familiar with Lucas’ original film. And, it goes without saying, we’ll be feeling the Force… of our fingers on the ‘checkout’ button, just as soon as they go live. Punch it!
