Star Wars: Starfighter writer Jonathan Tropper on Ryan Gosling’s influence
Jonathan Tropper says Star Wars: Starfighter is built for newcomers, and Ryan Gosling’s delivery shaped his writing.
By Bianca Rossi · Entertainment Editor
3 min read
Star Wars: Starfighter writer Jonathan Tropper says Ryan Gosling’s cadence and casual remarks became a useful creative reference point as he wrote the next galaxy-bound adventure. Speaking on Deadline’s Crew Call podcast, Tropper said of the actor, “His voice gets in your head.”
Tropper described using Gosling’s delivery and expressions as creative shorthand for the film, in which Gosling plays Kade Auberon. Deadline describes Kade as a cynical rogue whose past pulls him into a dangerous journey, alongside a child played by Flynn Gray.
What did Jonathan Tropper say about Star Wars: Starfighter?
The writer said he and director Shawn Levy set out to make a story with few hurdles for people coming to the franchise fresh. Tropper said the film sits beyond the familiar history of the Skywalker saga, the Rebellion, the First Order, the Resistance and the Empire.
That choice, he said, was meant to keep the adventure comparatively self-contained rather than require viewers to know the franchise’s established mythology. Tropper and Levy did not yet know precisely what the project would become when they signed on, according to Tropper.
His route to the job began with a pre-existing partnership. Tropper said he had made three films with Levy before Levy was approached about directing a Star Wars movie and was offered the chance to choose his writer.
How did Ryan Gosling shape Tropper’s process?
Tropper did not describe Gosling as merely an actor delivering finished pages. He said the performer’s rhythm, facial expressions and offhand comments could spark material that found its way into the movie. His observation was about the practical back-and-forth of developing a character’s voice, not a disclosure of further plot details.
Tropper also said he wrote Starfighter while serving as showrunner on Apple TV’s Your Friends & Neighbors, fitting pages into nights, weekends and some late afternoons. He said the scale of a Star Wars production made the crew’s work unusually collaborative, with departments contributing ideas as well as building the film’s many original assets.
What happened in the Lucky finale?
Spoiler warning: Deadline’s podcast discussion also covers the final episode of Apple TV’s Lucky. The reported outcome is that Priscilla, played by Annette Bening, allows Lucky, played by Anya Taylor-Joy, and Lucky’s father, played by Timothy Olyphant, to leave after a chase connected to $10 million taken by Lucky’s ex-husband, who is also Priscilla’s son.
Tropper discusses the decision in the Crew Call episode, but Deadline’s published recap does not include his explanation of Priscilla’s motivation. That leaves the episode’s key why unanswered in the available account, even as the Starfighter conversation offers a clearer window into how Tropper and Levy are approaching their new corner of the franchise.
This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.