As one of the biggest actors in Hollywood history, it’s a miracle that Tom Cruise never attached himself to a Star Wars project to star in. However, it seems that we can now say Cruise at least partially filmed part of a Star Wars movie. According to a report coming from the New York Times (via Variety), Shawn Levy, director of next year’s Star Wars: Starfighter, said that Cruise visited the set of the film last November. And after Levy made a joke about Tom jumping behind one of the cameras, the megastar did just that. He actually shot a scene of a lightsaber duel.
According to the frequent Stranger Things director, “Tom Cruise was up to his ankles in mud and pond water. He wore a look of great concentration as he stooped over a digital camera, trying to frame the perfect shot.” He even mentioned how much Tom Cruise wielded the camera like a pro. Levy said, “Now when you see the movie, you’ll know that part of it was shot by Tom. I mean, how cool is that?” Steven Spielberg also visited the set last year, but apparently did not get behind the camera. When he visited George Lucas’ set for Revenge of the Sith, he ended up shooting part of the Mustafar duel.
For hardcore Star Wars fans, however, the big news here is that Starfighter will have a lightsaber duel. And seemingly in a swamp, no less. As this movie takes place a few years after the sequels, there were no guarantee that any Jedi or Sith would play a role. With a name like Starfighter, it could simply have been about an X-Wing pilot for all we knew. Now, we know for sure we’re getting some lightsaber action. Which makes us wonder if Ryan Gosling’s character is the Jedi in question. Is he a former student of Luke’s? We’ll find out when Shawn Levy’s (and Tom Cruise’s) Star Wars: Starfighter hits theaters in May, 2027.