Matt Smith, renowned for his roles in Doctor Who and House of the Dragon, is making his entry into the Star Wars universe with a newly announced villain role in Star Wars: Starfighter. He joins an impressive cast that includes Project Hail Mary star Ryan Gosling and Pearl actress Mia Goth. According to a report from Deadline, Smith secured the pivotal role from a competitive pool of actors who auditioned for director Shawn Levy, although specifics concerning his character remain confidential.
Interestingly, Smith’s involvement with the franchise is not new; he was once rumored to have a significant part in 2019’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, a role that ultimately went unfulfilled. Speculation surrounded the possibility of him portraying a cloned Emperor Palpatine in J.J. Abrams’ conclusion to the Skywalker saga.
Reflecting on his near-miss with Rise of Skywalker, Smith shared on the Happy Sad Confused podcast in 2021, “We were close to me being in [Rise of Skywalker], but then it just never quite happened. I think the thing they were considering me for eventually became obsolete and they didn’t need it. And so I never got to be in Star Wars.”
When asked if his unfulfilled character could have been Dathan, the cloned “son” of Palpatine and father of Rey, portrayed by Daisy Ridley, Smith teased, “I could not possibly say, but it was a pretty groovy thing. It was a really groovy part and concept.” He added that the role was significant, describing it as a “transformative Star Wars story detail, but it never quite got over the line.”
As for Smith’s role in Starfighter, the connection to his earlier casting is still uncertain. However, director Shawn Levy has characterized the film as a standalone narrative set roughly five years after Episode IX. “It’s not a prequel, not a sequel. It’s a new adventure,” Levy stated at the Star Wars Celebration in April. He highlighted that Starfighter takes place in a timeframe previously unexplored in the franchise, within what Lucasfilm has designated the New Jedi Order era.
Moreover, it has been confirmed that Goth will also portray a villain, serving as one of the antagonistic forces pursuing the young charge under the protection of Gosling’s character.
Looking ahead, Disney has scheduled the release of its first Star Wars film post-The Rise of Skywalker—the Jon Favreau-directed The Mandalorian and Grogu—for May 22, 2026. This will be followed by Starfighter on May 28, 2027.
Based on reporting by Cameron Bonomolo. Read the full story at https://comicbook.com/movies/news/star-wars-starfighter-casts-matt-smith-villain-role/
