Star Wars Celebration Japan recap, day I: Ryan Gosling starring in STAR WARS: STARFIGHTER

Lucasfilm‘s biannual Star Wars Celebration has returned, this time in Japan, and that means there’s a lot of overnight news from the first day of the event (which ends on Sunday) to get through. While less eventful than the first day of 2023’s Celebration, there are still plenty of movie and TV announcements, video game and book reveals, and more to chew over.

§ Events kicked off with a panel for The Mandalorian and Grogu, which director Shawn Levy (Deadpool & Wolverine) crashed to confirm Ryan Gosling will star in his own Star Wars movie, now titled Star Wars: Starfighter. The movie, set five years after The Rise of Skywalker, will go into production this fall for a release on May 28, 2027 (during the 50th anniversary of A New Hope, which was released on May 25, 1977.) Lucasfilm also confirmed a new film trilogy by Simon Kinberg is in development, alongside the previously announced (and still active) Rey spin-off directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, James Mangold‘s Dawn of the Jedi, and the mysterious project from Taika Waititi.

As for The Mandalorian and Grogu itself, Pedro Pascal, Sigourney Weaver, and Grogu himself appeared alongside Dave Filoni, Kathleen Kennedy, and Jon Favreau to present footage from the movie. Attendees got to see Weaver playing an unnamed X-wing pilot who butts heads with Din Djarin, Grogu using the Force to break apart a mouse droid, and an epic showdown between Djarin and an AT-AT’s worth of snowtroopers. The film will precede Starfighter in theaters on May 22, 2026.

§ Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord, a new animated series starring the former Sith apprentice, was announced during the 20th anniversary Lucasfilm Animation panel. Sam Witwer, who voiced Maul in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Rebels, will reprise the role on the show, which will chronicle how the character regained power in the criminal underworld after the events of Clone Wars. It will be released on Disney+ in 2026.

§ A sizzle reel for Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures season three was introduced by Nubs himself. The new season will premiere on Disney+ and Disney Jr. sometime this fall.

§ Ubisoft released a trailer for Star Wars Outlaws: A Pirate’s Fortune, the second and final DLC for the game, revealing it will be released on Thursday, May 15.

A free, 3 hr demo for the base game was also launched on PC, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PlayStation 5 Pro.

§ New footage from Star Wars: Beyond Victory – A Mixed Reality Playset, an upcoming Meta Quest 3 game developed by Industrial Light & Magic, was released.

The game follows Volo Bolus, a young podracer looking to make a name himself during the events of Solo: A Star Wars Story. A tie-in Marvel comic, written by Ethan Sacks, with art by Will Sliney, Steven Cummings, and Shogo Aoki, also debuted at ILM and Meta’s booth on the convention floor. At the time of writing, it is only available as a giveaway there.

§ A panel was held to launch the second season of Light & Magic, the Disney+ documentary series about ILM.

All three episodes of season two are now available on the streaming service.

Assorted covers for Jedi Knights #8

§ All sorts were revealed at the Lucasfilm Publishing panel, including:

• Ahmed Best’s character from The Mandalorian, Kelleran Beq, will star in Marvel’s Star Wars: Jedi Knights #8, due out this October.

• New covers for Star Wars: Legacy of Vader, as well as concept of Tava Ren, an Order 66 survivor who takes leadership of the Knights of Ren during the gap between The Last Jedi and Rise of Skywalker (when the comic is set.)

• Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures Phase III – The Battle of Eriadu, a one-shot comic by Alyssa Wong and Elisa Romboli. The story will pit Jedi Padawan Gavi against his former friend Driggit Parse, setting up events in the larger story to come.

• Marvel’s currently ongoing Star Wars: The High Republic – Fear of the Jedi will end with a special one-shot, The Beacon, penned by series writer Cavan Scott.

• Andor will receive an artbook by Phil Szostak, simply titled The Art of Star Wars: Andor (The Complete Series), in March 2026.

• Industrial Light & Magic: 50 Years of Innovation, a book looking at the VFX house’s past and future, by Ian Failes, will be released on November 4, 2025.

More was revealed at the Manga Mania! panel, which you can read about here. You can check out more about all of these, and even more, at the official Star Wars news page. And be sure to stay tuned for our coverage of tonight’s news tomorrow morning!