When will Starbright premiere? Release date, cast details and more

Starbright is a fantasy drama with American origins that intertwines themes of grief, faith, and a sense of awe into a single nocturnal journey. The film, directed by Francesco Lucente, revolves around the exploration of the characters' inner lives rather than the grand visual effects typical of the genre.

The supernatural occurrence in the story is merely the ignition for the characters' intimate confrontations with their own lives. The movie with its mix of experienced actors and new faces, aims to explore the themes of loss and renewal through subdued storytelling and metaphorical visuals.

The movie is a product of collaboration between Lucente Filmed Entertainment and Ruby Max Entertainment. The movie is a result of the collective effort of a team headed by Lucente, who, apart from directing, also co-wrote the screenplay with Joseph Bitonti and Olimpia Lucente.

Starbright will premiere as a limited theatrical release in the United States on January 9, 2026, starring Alexandra Dowling alongside John Rhys-Davies, Ted Levine, Elisabeth Rohm, and Christine Ebersole.

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When and where is Starbright releasing?

Starbright (Image Via Ruby Max Entertainment)

The movie will be a limited theatrical release in the United States, which is set for Friday, January 9, 2026. As a limited release, the movie will be screened in only a few theaters in major markets, and thus, it won't be opened nationwide.

Hence, viewers will have to check ticketing platforms like Fandango or Atom Tickets to confirm the availability of the local theaters. The January 9, 2025 release date has the movie going up against several other films releasing on the same day, one of which is Greenland 2: Migration.

Limited releases are often a sign of an awards-focused or audience-specific strategy, and it seems to be a movie for people who are into introspective, atmospheric storytelling.

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What happens in Starbright and who stars in it?

The story of the movie is told over the span of one night, starting with a rare eclipse and a star mysteriously falling from the sky. The cosmic event brings a living light, a delicate and sensitive one, that becomes the central figure of the film's emotional and narrative journey.

Alexandra Dowling plays Aisling, a young woman burdened with personal loss, who meets the fallen light and, in a way, becomes its guardian. When news of the event spreads, the dangerous forces get into town to catch Aisling, and so she has to run through a city that is between sleep and silence.

During her escape, she meets two characters who will become her friends and allies. John Rhys, Davies is Raphael, an older man whose past is marked by grief and whose faith gets shaken, and Diego Boneta is Joshua, a quiet man whose bravery shows when he gets into a difficult situation.

The three of them together move through train yards, riverbanks, churches, and deserted streets as it gets later and later. The film Starbright, at first about being chased, slowly turns into a spiritual quest. It's not just about survival anymore; the movie chooses to reveal the characters' inner worlds through the light that is alive and seems to be the most vulnerable characters' scars and deepest sorrows.

Every one of them has to decide whether they want to stay where they are, in the past, or take a step into the unknown, but trust and hope.

Starbright features an ensemble cast that includes Ted Levine, Elisabeth Rohm, Christine Ebersole, Michel Shane, Joseph Bitonti, Anthony Romano, Jorg Neumann, and Olimpia Lucente, among others.

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The movie is set to release on January 9, 2025.

Edited by Sakshi Singh