Technologies

Star Wars: Starfighter Movie Is Coming: Here’s What We Know So Far

The new Star Wars: Starfighter film stars Ryan Gosling as a character new to the famed space franchise.

Get ready for a new trip to a galaxy far, far away courtesy of a upcoming new Star Wars movie. Star Wars: Starfighter is scheduled for a May 2027 release. Ryan Gosling (yes, Ken from the Barbie movie) stars in the film, playing a brand new character for the franchise. We don’t know much about his role or the standalone film yet, though director Shawn Levy revealed a bit on Thursday during the Star Wars Celebration, a fan event in Japan.

«The movie is a new adventure. It’s new characters,» said Levy. «It takes place in a new period of time after the battle of Exegol, after episode nine.»

Episode nine refers to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which came out in 2019, and the planet Exegol was the site of a battle during the war between the First Order and the Resistance

No one is surprised to see plans for a new Star Wars movie, given how the franchise has drastically expanded since Disney bought the franchise’s parent company, Lucasfilm, in 2012.

Fans ready to move on from sequels

The new film has excited superfans like Jimmy «Mac» McInerney, host and producer of the Rebel Force Radio: Star Wars Podcast.

«Superfans like me will be there for anything Star Wars, but I really hope Levy and Gosling will pack the appropriate punch to excite the masses,» McInerney told CNET. «I’m also very optimistic that this will be a standalone story with a solid beginning, middle and end.»

The movie will be set around five years after the events of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and it won’t follow any of the main plot lines from past films. So it’s not a prequel or a sequel, it’s a new adventure.

Mclnerney thinks the standalone nature of Star Wars: Starfighter might be a good thing.

«Sometimes Star Wars gets crushed under the weight of its existing lore, so it’s nice to know this will be a self-contained adventure,» he said. «This could provide fandom with a nice palate cleanser following the divisive sequel trilogy and propel the franchise into the future.»

For now, you can find all the Star Wars content your heart desires on the streaming service Disney+.

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Rideable Horse Robot Viral Video: The Real Story Behind It

Kawasaki’s Corleo robot horse is just a concept right now, but a thrilling hype video makes it look like a blast to ride.

If you’ve ever watched a video featuring a Boston Dynamics Spot robot dog and wanted to saddle it up and ride it, then Kawasaki has a concept robot that’ll make your heart flutter — and it’s part horse, part leopard, part robot and all wild. Too bad you can’t actually buy one.

The Kawasaki Corleo is a four-legged rideable robot, the answer to the question: «What if we put legs on an all-terrain vehicle instead of wheels?» Kawasaki released a video showing what the concept would look like if it were fully realized.

The trippy video features the Corleo and riders galloping through a forest, running across a field, leaping over rocky terrain and trotting across a snowy landscape. The video appears to be primarily computer generated with Lord of the Rings-worthy scenery.

Kawasaki is known for its motorcycles and ATVs, but the international company has its hands in everything from railcars to industrial equipment and robotics.

Kawasaki unveiled the forward-thinking Corleo for the Osaka Expo 2025 in Japan. It’s a 2050 concept model for a future mode of transportation. The expo’s theme is «designing future society for our lives.» The event officially opens on April 13.

Corleo incorporates some nifty design ideas, including independent legs, a hydrogen engine and steering through weight shifting.

«While preserving the joy of riding, the vehicle continually monitors the rider’s movements to achieve a reassuring sense of unity between human and machine,» Kawasaki said.

Kawasaki didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on its plans for Corleo.

For now, Corleo is just a model capable of limited movement, so your sci-fi dreams of riding across rugged mountains on a kick-butt robo-steed will have to be put on hold. Perhaps 2050 will bring us a world full of leggy, rideable robots. Somehow, that feels more achievable than a bunch of flying cars.