Tom Cruise Filmed a Lightsaber Battle in Star Wars: Starfighter

Mission Impossible fable Tom Cruise dropped successful connected the acceptable of Star Wars: Starfighter via chopper and ended up filming a lightsaber duel.

Starfighter manager Shawn Levy, who besides helmed 2024's Marvel deed Deadpool & Wolverine, revealed Cruise's acceptable sojourn arsenic portion of an interrogation with The New York Times, and said that viewers volition beryllium capable to ticker the actor's enactment down the camera erstwhile the upcoming Star Wars movie arrives successful theaters adjacent year.

"Last week Steven Spielberg was here," Levy recalled. "And present Tom Cruise is wielding a camera, ruining his precise bully shoes." The manager recalled welcoming Cruise to the acceptable — which helium landed connected successful his ain chopper — by playing the Mission Impossible taxable via loudspeakers.

Levy joked that Cruise, who had said helium conscionable wanted to sojourn and ticker the filming, should leap down a camera. But Cruise took Levy's connection seriously, and splashed retired into a "muddy pond" to movie a lightsaber conflict betwixt respective unrevealed characters.

Aside from the information that Tom Cruise helped movie immoderate of a large upcoming Star Wars movie — thing that is, rather frankly, notable capable — galore fans person expressed astonishment astatine this anecdote confirming that lightsaber battles volition beryllium a portion of Levy's project.

Now, yes, lightsaber battles successful a Star Wars movie whitethorn not dependable similar overmuch of a surprise. (Next we'll find retired the movie has aliens!) But this confirmation has inactive raised a fewer eyebrows among fans today, arsenic Starfighter has — truthful acold astatine slightest — been pitched arsenic thing unconnected to the wider Skywalker Saga's Jedi shenanigans, and alternatively much down to earth.

Admittedly, overmuch of Starfighter's crippled remains nether wraps, but we cognize that the movie volition absorption connected a scruffy-looking scoundrel-type quality played by Ryan Gosling, arsenic good arsenic his young nephew. Production images released by Levy truthful acold person seen the brace adjacent to a speeder and connected immoderate benignant of sci-fi raft, with a vibe that seems acold removed from the franchise's accustomed galaxy-defining abstraction conflicts.

That said, some Matt Smith and Mia Goth person besides been formed connected the project, with rumors and instrumentality speculation astir their enigma roles suggesting they could beryllium playing members of the Sith. Could the brace combat each other, oregon does Starfighter besides see Jedi that the Doctor Who and Dracula actors some combat together? Time, and besides present perchance Tom Cruise, volition tell.

"This is simply a standalone. It’s not a prequel, not a sequel," Levy antecedently said astatine Star Wars Celebration 2025 successful April. "It’s a caller adventure. It’s acceptable successful a play of clip that we haven’t seen explored yet." Star Wars: Starfighter is presently owed to motorboat connected May 28, 2027.

Image credit: Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social