The Inbetweeners star Simon Bird has been announced one of the cast members of the new Star Wars film, titled Starfighter.
An official press release from the official Star Wars website on Thursday (August 28) marked the start of production on the movie, which was already announced as starring Ryan Gosling and being directed by Shawn Levy. It is set five after the previous Star Wars film, The Rise Of Skywalker.
In the release, the film was described as being “an all-new standalone adventure” and “an entirely original story set in a period of time never before explored in Star Wars.” The film is set to be released in cinemas on May 28, 2027.
Bird will feature in an as-yet unannounced role, with co-stars confirmed as including Mia Goth, Matt Smith, Aaron Pierre and Amy Adams.
Levy said in a statement: “I feel a profound sense of excitement and honour as we begin production on Star Wars: Starfighter. From the day (producer) Kathy Kennedy called me up, inviting me to develop an original adventure in this incredible Star Wars galaxy, this experience has been a dream come true, creatively and personally. Star Wars shaped my sense of what story can do, how characters and cinematic moments can live with us forever. To join this storytelling galaxy with such brilliant collaborators onscreen and off, is the thrill of a lifetime.”
Simon Bird is best known for playing Will McKenzie in the hit sitcom The Inbetweeners, about the lives of a misfit group of teenagers. The show spawned two spin-off movies and won multiple awards. He would also star as Adam in the series Friday Night Dinner from 2011-2020.
Behind the scenes, Bird has established himself as a director, helming the BAFTA winning comedy Such Brave Girls and the 2019 British independent film Days of the Bagnold Summer.
Talk of an Inbetweeners reunion has circulated for years, but Bird said in September of last year that a return is unlikely. “(The cast would) be happy to but it’s not up to us, it’s up to the writers, Iain (Morris) and Damon (Beesley), and I know they’re both very busy these days.” He said. “It’s not more likely to happen now than it was 10 years ago I’m afraid. I think it was a comedy that inhabited a certain time.”
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