We’ve been slowly getting teases about Shawn Levy’s take on the Star Wars franchise, from the reveal of Gosling’s character (Kade Auberon) to a first look at him on set. However, the ‘80s movie that inspired Star Wars: Starfighter was not one I could have predicted.I am so on board, however, as it tends to go every time I learn something new about the upcoming Star Wars movies. But nothing has me more ready to jump back into a galaxy far far away than discovering the inspiration for Starfighter is one of my favorite movies (and books). Levy shares with Zuri Hall, from Fandango, about the Brat Pack movie that inspired both him and Gosling. He states:The Outsiders, which was both a book and a movie that Gosling and I weirdly connected in and about early on when the script was still evolving. We spoke about how that movie captured something about characters who are — they're not the privileged ones. They're from the wrong side of the tracks. Our characters in Starfighter are from the wrong side of the galaxy, and it’s about these marginalized outsiders who find each other and have a shot at discovering heroism through their connections.The book authored by S.E. Hinton is one of my favorites. Both it and its famed adaptation explore the classism between the ‘greasers’ and the ‘socs’ which find the boys from the wrong side of the tracks beat down by society. But the story also explores themes of found family, friendship, and sacrifice. I would have never put The Outsiders and Star Wars together, but now I can’t unseen how perfectly the two blend together. (Image credit: Warner Bros.)I just hope that Starfighter doesn’t have the same tragic outcome. But now the jacket presented to Gosling at Disney’s D23 has new meaning. The distressed skull and crossbones (serving as a nod to the Rebel Alliance’s Starbird logo) could easily be as symbolic as Ponyboy and his friends’ aesthetic in The Outsiders. And this seems to be the vibe that Levy was going for, as he explains: So there was just something very kind of blue collar, working class, grounded and textured and real to The Outsiders that we tried to bring to Star Wars and Starfighter.This idea also weaves into the “car culture” that the Free Guy director says inspired the new movie’s “brand new fleet of craft.” The way they’ve been teasing this movie has me hopeful, especially after writer Jonathan Tropper’s take on its comparisons to the Skywalker saga. We can expect something new and original. Much like how A New Hope was for audiences in the ‘70s, I’m hoping this movie will be a breath of fresh franchise air that will reignite our love for Star Wars. Starfighter truly sounds like the “perfect director playground” as it will explore new characters, new droids, and won’t be reliant on grandiose history. People are predicting this could be an even bigger film than The Mandalorian and Grogu. This standalone movie is the franchise’s “chance to do something fresh and original,” and with its Gosling leading power, I have complete confidence I’m going to love it. Knowing The Outsiders is a key inspiration for the movie only has me more impatient for it's May 2027 release.