How to Get Cast in Star Wars: Starfighter
Star Wars: Starfighter lands in theaters on May 28, 2027, and the people who filled its call sheet are two of the most powerful casting directors working today: Carmen Cuba and Nina Gold. This is your no-fluff guide to how the casting worked, what kinds of performers they look for, and the exact steps to put yourself in the frame for this film’s remaining opportunities — and the Star Wars projects that follow it.
The honest headline up front: the film finished shooting at the end of 2025 and is deep into post-production, so the principal cast is locked. That doesn’t end the guide. Franchise films generate pickup shoots, background needs, stunt and creature work — and, most importantly, a casting team that remembers strong performers for the next one. The actors who understand how Cuba and Gold cast are the actors who get seen next time.
The Film at a Glance
Starfighter is a standalone Star Wars story set roughly five years after the events of The Rise of Skywalker (2019). Directed by Shawn Levy, it follows a new generation of characters in a corner of the galaxy the films haven’t explored.
The confirmed cast tells you everything about the film’s casting strategy — a genuine mix of stars and discoveries:
- Ryan Gosling plays Kade Auberon, the lead — a fighter pilot at the story’s center.
- Flynn Gray, a newcomer, plays Gosling’s nephew — the kid lead, found after a months-long search.
- Ensemble: Matt Smith, Mia Goth (reported as a lightsaber-wielding mercenary), Aaron Pierre, Simon Bird, Jamael Westman, Daniel Ings, and Amy Adams.
Key production facts:
- Status: Filmed in the UK at Shepperton Studios; wrapped at the end of 2025; in post-production now.
- Release: May 28, 2027, theatrical — Memorial Day weekend.
- Background scale: Star Wars productions are enormous employers of background performers, stunt performers, and creature actors — pilot corps, military extras, cantina crowds, and alien characters, staffed through UK extras agencies, stunt teams, and creature shops.
The Casting Directors: Carmen Cuba and Nina Gold
Get this right first: Starfighter was cast by two casting directors working together — Carmen Cuba and Nina Gold. Cuba confirmed it herself in a September 2026 interview: “Nina Gold and I cast the next Star Wars that’s coming out, Starfighter.” A second source — the episode page for that same interview — confirms Cuba’s attachment and notes she discussed casting the film’s kid lead.
Nina Gold: the Star Wars veteran. Her Star Wars saga experience is the core of her authority on this film. Gold cast The Force Awakens (2015), The Last Jedi (2017), Solo (2018), and The Rise of Skywalker (2019) — the entire sequel trilogy plus the Han Solo standalone — along with Game of Thrones across its full run. She has cast more of the modern Star Wars universe than almost anyone alive: she knows the exact look of a Star Wars pilot, the physicality of a lightsaber duelist, and the quality that makes a newcomer feel like they belong in this franchise.
Carmen Cuba: the discovery specialist. Cuba’s credits include Stranger Things, The Martian, Logan Lucky, and Now You See Me. The Stranger Things credit is the one to study — that show’s kid ensemble came from one of the most famous open casting searches in recent television. On Starfighter, Cuba was personally involved in finding the kid lead: newcomer Flynn Gray won the role of Gosling’s nephew after a months-long search. Her office runs the kind of wide-net searches where an unknown with the right presence can genuinely break through.
Why the pairing matters: between them, these two combine franchise-scale crowd and military casting (Gold) with open-search discovery instincts (Cuba). If a future Star Wars project holds an open call for a kid lead, a young pilot, or a creature performer, this is the office that runs it.
What Roles They Cast
A Star Wars feature casts in layers. Know the layers, know which door is open.
Lead and principal roles. Locked. Gosling, Gray, Smith, Goth, Pierre, Bird, Westman, Ings, and Adams are set, and the film is in post-production. These were cast through Cuba and Gold’s offices with top agencies before cameras rolled.
Day players and co-stars. Largely locked, but watch this tier if pickup shoots are announced. Franchise films routinely do additional photography before release — inserts, new dialogue scenes, coverage. With a May 2027 release, pickup work in early 2027 would be completely normal. Day-player roles get cast fast when pickups happen, and they go to performers already in the casting offices’ files and with UK casting agencies.
Stunt performers and creature actors. Constant demand across the franchise: fight-trained performers, wire-work specialists, creature and suit performers. Goth’s reported lightsaber-wielding mercenary role alone implies a full stunt team of duelist-trained performers. If you have this training, you’re in a much smaller, much more employable pool than general background.
Background performers and extras. The highest-volume tier on any Star Wars film: starfighter pilots, military personnel, alien crowds, cantina and market scenes, ship crews. Starfighter shot at Shepperton, so background casting ran through UK-based extras agencies — and will again if pickups happen. Background on a Star Wars film is also one of the few ways onto a set this secretive without representation: extras agencies take direct registrations.
Voice and ADR. Easy to overlook, genuinely live: with the film in post through mid-2027, additional dialogue recording, crowd walla, and alien-language vocal work get cast months after principal photography wraps — often through specialized voice agencies rather than the main casting office.
How to Apply: Step by Step
Step 1: Be realistic about where this film is in its lifecycle
Don’t hunt for a principal-role audition that no longer exists. Your realistic targets, in order: (1) background and day-player work on any pickup shoots, (2) stunt, creature, and voice specialty lanes, and (3) getting into Cuba’s and Gold’s systems for the next Star Wars project. Different targets, different moves — decide before you act.
Step 2: Build or polish your Project Casting profile
Project Casting is where casting notices for background, day-player, and specialty roles land. For a UK-shot franchise production, make your profile pickup-ready: accurate location (UK-based performers were the local-hire pool at Shepperton), current headshots across the standard looks plus specialty shots, and special skills listed prominently — stage combat, wire work, horse riding, military experience, creature/puppetry training, voiceover, dialect work. Keep availability current: pickup casting moves on 48-to-72-hour turnarounds. Check new notices daily.
Step 3: Register with UK extras and background agencies
Background casting for Starfighter went through UK extras agencies — and that’s where any future Star Wars UK shoot will staff background again. If you’re UK-based and not registered, you’re invisible to this entire lane. Registration is typically a straightforward database signup: photos, measurements, availability, special skills. It’s the single highest-leverage move for a performer without representation who wants franchise work.
Step 4: Get your headshots and reel franchise-ready
Cuba and Gold cast faces that feel real inside heightened worlds. Headshots: natural, unglamorous, character-forward. The franchise casts weathered pilots, stern officers, market traders — not catalog models. One strong character headshot matters more than three polished commercial ones. Reel: 60–90 seconds leading with grounded, physical, dialogue-driven work. Stage combat, stunt, or creature-suit footage goes first — it sorts you straight into the specialty pool. Special skills: list every physical skill with specificity — “stage combat (rapier/dagger, certified)” beats “stage combat.”
Step 5: Understand agent vs. self-submit on franchise films
Principal roles went through agents to Cuba’s and Gold’s offices — that’s how franchise leads work. But background, many day-player roles, stunt team spots, creature performers, and ADR/voice work all run through channels that accept direct registration: extras agencies, stunt coordinators’ rosters, creature shops, voice agencies. No agent doesn’t mean locked out of Star Wars — it means locked out of one tier. Work the tiers that take direct submissions, now, while post-production is still generating ADR and pickup needs.
Step 6: Play the long game with the casting offices
The move most actors miss: Cuba and Gold will cast the next Star Wars project after this one. Casting directors keep files. Every legitimate touchpoint compounds — registering with the agencies they use, submitting for the open calls they run, doing strong work as a day player or extra on a production they cast. Flynn Gray was an unknown before a months-long search found him. The next months-long search starts from the same files.
Realistic Tips for This Specific Film
Study what Gold has already cast. The Force Awakens through The Rise of Skywalker are your textbook — the pilot briefings, the officer scenes, the cantina crowds. That’s the physical and facial vocabulary she casts, and Starfighter lives in the same visual world five years later.
Don’t overlook the kid-lead lesson. Cuba spent months finding Flynn Gray. When a franchise runs an open search, it is genuinely open — unknown kids book these roles. The takeaway isn’t about this film; it’s that the next open search rewards whoever is already in the system with current materials.
Creature and stunt tracks are the shortcut. General background draws thousands of applicants; creature performers and stunt-trained duelists draw dozens. Specialty training is the fastest way to shrink your competition on franchise work.
Keep your UK working status clean. UK productions strongly prefer UK-based hires for everything below principal roles. A US performer’s realistic path is principal-tier representation or genuine UK availability — not flying in for background.
Watch for pickup announcements. Additional photography in late 2026 or early 2027 would be completely normal for a May 2027 release. Follow UK production listings and trade coverage; pickups staff quickly and quietly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are the casting directors for Star Wars: Starfighter?
Carmen Cuba and Nina Gold cast the film together. Cuba confirmed it in a September 2026 interview: “Nina Gold and I cast the next Star Wars that’s coming out, Starfighter.”
Is Star Wars: Starfighter still filming?
No. Principal photography at Shepperton Studios wrapped at the end of 2025; the film is in post-production for its May 28, 2027 release.
Can I still audition for Star Wars: Starfighter?
Principal roles are locked. Realistic remaining opportunities: background or day-player work if pickups are scheduled, plus stunt, creature, and voice/ADR lanes, which hire much later than principal casting.
Who plays the lead in Starfighter?
Ryan Gosling stars as Kade Auberon, with newcomer Flynn Gray — found after a months-long search — as his nephew. The ensemble includes Matt Smith, Mia Goth, Aaron Pierre, Simon Bird, Jamael Westman, Daniel Ings, and Amy Adams.
How do I get cast in the next Star Wars movie?
Get into the system now: register with UK extras agencies if UK-based, keep a franchise-ready profile with physical special skills listed, submit for every open call Cuba’s and Gold’s offices run, and build stunt, creature, or voice specialties that shrink your competition pool.
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Starfighter’s principals are locked, but franchise casting never stops — [INTERNAL LINK: today’s background and day-player casting calls — browse the latest notices] and [INTERNAL LINK: how to list stunt and special skills so casting directors find you — profile guide].
