Star Wars: Starfighter's Biggest Fan Theories, Ranked by Likelihood

Star Wars: Starfighter is still seven months away, and fans are already deep into theory season. Shawn Levy's movie opens in theaters on May 28, 2027, the same weekend the original Star Wars opened 50 years earlier (StarWars.com). Ryan Gosling stars as Kade Auberon, a name Lucasfilm only revealed at D23 in August. The only footage so far played for the people in that room, and Lucasfilm has been pulling down the recordings that leaked (ComicBookMovie). With no public trailer to pick apart, fans have filled the gap with plenty of guesses.

Below are the biggest theories, ranked from the most likely to the least. Some of them come from scoopers with alleged plot leaks, so read carefully if you'd rather go in clean.

What do we actually know about Star Wars: Starfighter?

The movie is set about five years after The Rise of Skywalker (Variety). Lucasfilm calls it a period "never before explored in Star Wars." Gosling leads a cast that includes Flynn Gray, Amy Adams, Mia Goth, Matt Smith, Aaron Pierre, Jamael Westman and Daniel Ings (StarWars.com). Jonathan Tropper wrote the script, and Thomas Newman is composing the score (TheWrap). Filming took place in the UK and on Sardinia, and Levy announced the wrap in December 2025 (THR).

The D23 footage gave fans most of their clues. In it, the boy pulls a tarp off a ship, and Kade identifies it as a decommissioned G-17 Imperial Reaper, "the fastest starfighter ever built." When the boy says he's never heard of it, Kade answers, "There's a reason for that" (Gizmodo). Kade's leather jacket also carries an upside-down Rebel starbird. Meanwhile, the filmmakers keep stressing that this is its own story. "It's new characters, it's a new timeline," Levy said (JoBlo). Tropper put it even more plainly with "This isn't a Skywalker saga movie" (The Playlist).

Is the kid in Starfighter Force-sensitive?

This is the theory I'd bet on. Flynn Gray's character name hasn't been revealed, but THR described Gosling's role as protecting "a young charge against evil pursuers" (Inverse). Scooper Jon Rocha has claimed the boy is Force-sensitive and that his mother appears to be a Jedi, and fellow insider Jeff Sneider said that "lines up" (Geeks + Gamers). MakingStarWars went further, claiming that Kade is escorting the child to a Jedi sanctuary on a planet called Adaria (ComicBookMovie).

None of that is confirmed. Still, Tropper has said that "lightsabers are a part of that universe," and the escort setup fits everything Lucasfilm has shown so far (/Film). My read is that a reluctant pilot protecting a special kid is the most Star Wars premise imaginable, so this one feels likely.

Who are Mia Goth and Matt Smith playing?

Lucasfilm hasn't said, but the trades point toward villains. THR described Goth as one of the "pursuers" (AV Club), and Deadline reported that Smith would play "a major villain" (TheWrap). The most detailed rumor comes from scooper FivesWalker. It claims Goth plays a Force-sensitive mercenary with a lightsaber who's hunting the boy for a criminal syndicate, while Smith plays the warlord and arms dealer who hired her (Murphy's Multiverse). The same scooper says rumors of Goth playing a Sith cultist are false.

Plenty of fans have wondered if the villains are tied to a First Order remnant. Tropper seems to have closed that door, though. He said the movie doesn't deal with "the Rebellion, the First Order, the Resistance or the Empire" (The Playlist). I'd call the villain casting likely and the syndicate details a coin flip until a trailer lands.

What is Kade Auberon hiding?

The official synopsis says Kade is a rogue who "is confronted by his mysterious past" (StarWars.com). Fans have three main guesses. He could be a former Imperial pilot, a burned-out war hero or a total nobody who stumbled into this (ComicBook.com). FivesWalker claims he's a washed-up pilot "haunted by ghosts of his past," and the boy's uncle (SuperHeroHype).

The footage supports some kind of military past. Kade knows all about an Imperial ship that nobody's heard of, and the flipped Rebel starbird on his jacket hardly reads like a fan club patch. My guess is a former Rebel pilot who soured on the cause, which would make the "mysterious past" more personal than galactic. Call it likely that he has a military history, with the exact details still up for grabs.

Will Rey, Poe or other legacy characters show up?

Probably not, at least not in a big way. There have been rumors of a Rey cameo, but none of them have been confirmed (Inside the Magic). Oscar Isaac has said he'd happily return as Poe Dameron, telling ET, "I'm ready for it. Let me know when" (Gamereactor). Kathleen Kennedy did say in 2025 that Lucasfilm "may bring some of the characters back from the sequel saga" (Deadline). Tropper's comments came later and were much firmer.

There's another reason to doubt a big crossover. In September, THR reported that Jon Watts is attached to direct the first film in a new Skywalker Saga trilogy written by Simon Kinberg, with Rey appearing "in some form." That trilogy hasn't been greenlit yet (Gizmodo). If that's where Rey's story continues, Starfighter doesn't need her.

Is Kade Auberon secretly Cade Skywalker?

This is easily the most talked-about theory, and I think it's also the least likely of the bunch. Once Kade's name was revealed, fans on X pointed out how close it is to Cade Skywalker. In the old Legends comics, Cade was a bounty hunter and former Jedi Padawan descended from Luke and Mara Jade (CinemaBlend). Inverse noticed that Auberon echoes Oberon from Shakespeare, though it called that a possible coincidence (Inverse). GamesRadar+ also covered a fan theory that Kade is Luke's son, and called it "very unlikely" (GamesRadar+).

The filmmakers have pushed back on this one pretty directly. Tropper said, "we have no legacy characters" (/Film). At most, I'd guess the name is a wink for Legends fans (Lucasfilm never met an Easter egg it didn't like).

When will we see a Star Wars: Starfighter trailer?

As of October 22, there's no public trailer, and nothing official on the Star Wars YouTube channel. One insider answered "maybe December" when fans asked about timing (Bespin Bulletin). Star Wars Celebration runs April 1 to 4, 2027, in Los Angeles, just weeks before release (Popverse). That feels like the obvious place for a big final trailer. Lucasfilm has already announced IMAX 70mm prints (JoBlo) and an expanded novelization next June that promises "scenes not shown on screen" (LaughingPlace).

If I had to rank them, the Force-sensitive kid comes first, then Goth and Smith as villains, then a military past for Kade. A legacy cameo and Cade Skywalker trail far behind. The good news is that we only have to wait until May to find out who's right (and the comments section is open until then).

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Header image is an official Star Wars: Starfighter set photo by Ed Miller for Lucasfilm, via StarWars.com. The logo image is from Lucasfilm, via StarWars.com.