We weren’t sure if Star Wars: Starfighter would focus on the Force or Jedi at all, but now there’s been reports of a lightsaber duel filmed on-set, and that Tom Cruise filmed it.
In an interview with the New York Times (NYT), which almost comes across like a bit of a press release to showcase all the reasons why Shawn Levy is a great choice to direct this film, NYT revealed that Levy filmed a scene “involving a lightsaber duel in the water”.
Starfighter had multiple celebrity visitors during filming, including Cruise and Steven Spielberg. While Spielberg likely provided some pearls of wisdom to Levy, Cruise enthusiastically took up Levy’s joking offer to jump on one of the cameras and waded into a muddy pond to shoot the scene. Levy reflected on the experience:
“Last week Steven Spielberg was here. And now Tom Cruise is wielding a camera, ruining his very nice shoes. Now when you see the movie, you’ll know that part of it was shot by Tom. I mean, how cool is that?”
The article further confirms the appearance of lightsabers when interviewer Calum Marsh revealed that Levy handed him a prop lightsaber while grabbing one for himself, inviting him to duel with him: “Hey, check this out! We can have a battle. I like to practice in between takes.”
Additionally, it turns out there’s a reason why the first couple of promotional images for Star Wars: Starfighter revealed star Ryan Gosling next to a young boy. According to director Shawn Levy, the film is built around a father-son dynamic. Levy revealed that the reason a lot of his movies (The Adam Project, Night at the Museum and Real Steel among others) have focused on a father-son dynamic is due to the relationship he has with his own father.
In an emotional tale, he recounted that his father left when he was three years old, and his mother suffered from depression and alcoholism. He and his sister ran away and reunited with their father when he was 13, which he believes saved his life. It’s unsurprising that he revisits that theme of father-and-son relationships for his movies, which might hint that he particularly “gets” Star Wars, which is particularly well known for those dynamics.
“I have never, ever connected it before… But I could never figure out why I kept coming back to these stories of a 13-year-old boy being saved by a man. There was something defining about that moment for me. And with ‘Star Wars,’ I’m doing so again.”
Of course, this doesn’t confirm that the two leads are actually father and son; it could just refer to a found family dynamic between the two of them. Levy revealed how challenging he’s finding the film when recounting a conversation with his father:
“My dad called me yesterday and asked me how I’m doing. ‘Is the job stressful? Is it hard?’” he said. “I’m like: ‘Yes, this movie is more stressful and challenging than anything I’ve ever done.’ But also, my 10-year-old self is on set with me every day. That’s how I make movies.”
Speaking of how Shawn Levy makes movies, that process is likely another reason why Lucasfilm hired him to direct this film. Cinematographer Claudio Miranda claimed Levy is “always very sparky” and that he “comes in fully charged”, whereas other directors might look weighed down by such a project.
NYT also reported that his sets are a “masterclass in efficiency” and that Levy himself is conscious of time and budget. It’s easy to see why that would appeal to huge studios like Disney, who have become increasingly penny-pinching in the last five years.
“There is a breed of movie star and filmmaker that makes it a point of pride to spend all the time and all the money, as if your creative appetite is so voracious that cost and schedule be damned. But I’m the guy the studios call when they want someone they know will take their investment seriously and deliver responsibly. It’s not the sexiest way to put it. But I’m a good worker. And I do take pride in that.”
Hugh Jackman spoke to Marsh over the phone recently and backed this up, saying “He’s equal parts producer and director. You are never over time, over budget, over schedule. Everything is completely organized. You know exactly what you’re doing.” This would also appeal directly to Lucasfilm, who notorious struggled with managing these things on both Rogue One and Solo. Combine that with the fact that he knows how to make lots of money at the box office, as he did with Deadpool & Wolverine and Night at the Museum, and you can see why Lucasfilm were so eager to bring his movie forward.
It was Kathleen Kennedy who was responsible for bringing Levy on board for Star Wars: Starfighter, and she noted that earlier in his career, he got a bit pigeon-holed after directing family comedies like Night at the Museum and Cheaper by the Dozen:
“He did family comedies, and that got reinterpreted as ‘lightweight’ — which is completely unfair. It is so hard to do movies like that. It’s all I look for in directors, and it’s like a needle in a haystack.”
The article notes that not all of his more recent films have been particularly well received by critics even when they have been box office hits (though Levy received an Oscar nomination for producing sci-fi film Arrival). Nevertheless, Levy always refers back to some advice that Steven Spielberg gave him on the set of Real Steel: “You direct like your sitting in the audience”. Levy follows that advice religiously.
“I’ve never forgotten that. For better or worse, I am making movies like I would want them to look and feel and sound like if I were sitting in that dark theater. So maybe that’s it.”
We’ll have to wait and see how critics respond to Star Wars: Starfighter, but it feels increasingly likely that it will be a fun time at the movies for the fans who go out and watch it.
Josh is a huge Star Wars fan, who has spent far too much time wondering if any Star Wars character could defeat Thanos with all the Infinity Stones.