On the Set of Star Wars: Starfighter, Shawn Levy’s Inner Child Is “Losing His Mind”

Shawn Levy never thought he’d make it to a galaxy far, far away. “Star Wars was initially the formative movie in terms of my conception of what a movie is, the potential of what a movie can be,” he tells Vanity Fair. His directing career has centered around similarly big, theatrical productions, including the first three installments in the Night at the Museum film franchise and popular comedies like Date Night and The Internship. In 2016 he produced both Arrival and Stranger Things, and became known for supporting ambitious sci-fi projects that also had wide audience appeal.

But despite his years spent trying to convince Disney and Lucasfilm otherwise, helming an actual Star Wars movie didn’t seem to be a real possibility for him—at least, not until Levy had directed more box office hits, including Free Guy and Deadpool & Wolverine, the latter of which became the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time. That was when Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy gave Levy a call.

The director has been in Europe for the past several months filming Star Wars: Starfighter, his hotly anticipated franchise installment starring Ryan Gosling. While much of the plot is still under wraps, we know it’s an original story set approximately five years after the events of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and that it also stars Matt Smith, Mia Goth, Aaron Pierre, and Amy Adams.

At the same time, Levy is wrapping up his 10-year journey with Stranger Things, the fifth and final season of which hits Netflix this month. His company, 21 Laps Entertainment, is also about to start production on a high school hockey drama series starring Michelle Monaghan while developing a Madonna limited series as well. “The meetings alone have been worth the price of admission for me, because she’s obviously iconic. She’s also a legendary storyteller,” Levy says of working with the Queen of Pop. “The goal around this series is to tell the stories behind the stories we know.”

Though he can’t really do all that until he’s done with Starfighter. “Directing and producing Star Wars requires an exclusivity of focus unlike anything I’ve ever done,” he says. “I am in this galaxy full-time, all the time—when I’m awake, when I’m asleep—and I’m quite happily living there.”

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Vanity Fair: How’s filming going?

Shawn Levy: Nothing quite prepares you for the unique experience of directing Star Wars. I’ve done ambitious movies with high levels of complexity—certainly things like Free Guy and Deadpool & Wolverine were not chamber pieces. So I thought I was used to big-scale complexity and production. But Star Wars is uniquely intricate, because not only are you inheriting a beloved legacy, but in the case of Starfighter, I’ve got this self-imposed but very Lucasfilm-supported mandate of making a new adventure. And so every creative decision, it’s all bespoke and new. So it’s the normal number of decisions per day the directors are used to, but probably times 10.

Did you always dream of directing a Star Wars movie?

When word got out that Disney had acquired Lucasfilm and they were going to sort of relaunch the film franchise, I was one of dozens of directors who raised their hand and let it be known to anyone who would listen that that would be a dream. But then the dream sort of receded because nothing came of it, and I kept busy doing lots of my own stuff. So to get that call from Kathleen Kennedy in August of 2022, I literally remember where I was. She said, “I want you to do a Star Wars movie.” I asked the obvious question: “Which one? What’s it a prequel to? What’s it a sequel to?” And the immediate answer was, “Whatever one you want. Make it feel like your movies feel.” It was just this incredibly empowering opportunity.

Did that feel like the way it was meant to happen, because you got to make things like Deadpool & Wolverine and Stranger Things first?

One hundred percent. I’m not in the early stages of my career, but it turns out I’m not in the late stages either. I’m enjoying this very surprising decade. It sort of started with Stranger Things and Arrival as a producer, where I’m finally getting the opportunity to direct stories in a range of tone. For a long time, I was the family-comedy guy, and those movies were so successful that it was a very comfortable pigeonhole. This decades-long experience of directing incredible movie stars, of directing franchise films, directing complicated visual effects and special effects action movies, these all prepared me for this moment.

What was it like when you stepped on set for the first day of shooting?

Every day on set with Star Wars, I’ve got my 10-year-old self next to me. I’m sort of inspired and—in the midst of a huge amount of stress—gleeful. Younger me is there every day, and he’s losing his mind with excitement.

When Kathleen Kennedy came to you and said “make your movie,” what ended up being your pitch to her?

I knew the feeling that she wanted. I know the aspects of my work that have worked and that she was alluding to. It is sort of a combination of humor and heart, within adventure. The first step was, I chose [screenwriter] Jonathan Tropper, with whom I’ve done small movies and big movies. We just started talking, and it led to months of dreaming and brainstorming and rejecting ideas and embracing others. And little by little, it led us to a theme that was really interesting to me and some characters that were interesting to me. I can’t give anything more than that away.

You’re also well-versed in keeping a secret.

The greatest gift that Stranger Things gave me is shutting my mouth in public.

Does the end of Stranger Things feel like a chapter closing for you?

Definitely. It’s been 10 years of my life, so I’m obviously grateful for it. But I did Stranger Things with zero strategic thinking. I literally raised my hand because that script was too good to ignore. I found the Stranger Things experience incredibly inspiring. Directing Stranger Things has made me a broader and, I think, better director.

As someone who’s had success with big theatrical movies, do you feel like it’s harder than ever to get movies made?

It’s harder now than it’s ever been. It’s harder to sell, yes. But it’s really, really harder to get greenlights. There is a contraction of our industry and a heightened fear that informs decision-making.

Do you feel like that has to change for movies to survive?

Certainly it has to stop trending in this direction for the industry to survive. I do think it’s going to be a mixture. I don’t think franchises and sequels are going to be the only answer. I’m as proud of The Adam Project and Free Guy as I am of Deadpool & Wolverine and Star Wars. So there’s got to be a mix of original storytelling with franchise storytelling. I’m optimistic. I still believe in the fundamental human need for story and communal experience, whether that’s in television or movies. But without question, it’s been a challenging several years.

If Star Wars was this white whale for you, do you have other stories you’re hoping to tell in the future?

I’ve always been so specifically goal-driven to make big movies, reach big audiences: Marvel, Star Wars. And now I find myself at a moment where it all happened. I’m in this unfamiliar place of not chasing a white whale, but rather being willing to sit back and only make what is irresistible to me. And I’m intrigued to see what proves too juicy to resist.

Hair and grooming, Emma White Turle; set design, Max Bellhouse. Produced on location by Fuse Productions. For details, go to VF.com/credits.