Shawn Levy Talks Star Wars: Starfighter Editing and AI

In an interview with Variety.com director of the film “Star Wars: Starfighter” Shawn Levy said about the “beautiful sanctity of the editing room,” where he works to find “the best possible form for the film,” and how he believes artificial intelligence will become an integral part of filmmaking.

Director Shawn Levy has completed filming on Star Wars: Starfighter and is currently in post-production.

The long-awaited film starring Ryan Gosling, Amy Adams, Matt Smith, Mia Goth and Aaron Pierre will not be released until May 28, 2027.

“I'm in a beautiful, private editing room,” Levy told me at the Breakthrough Prize ceremony on Saturday. “Our film doesn't release until next year, so it's a rare occasion that I don't have a release date coming up. So I'm in the dark silence of the editing room trying to get the film into the best shape possible."

It appears that AI will not become a significant tool for finding this form. “To date, I have not used AI to any significant extent at any stage of my storytelling process, but I have no doubt that over the course of my career we will see its integration,” Levy said.

Levy is a prolific director and producer whose credits include Stranger Things, Deadpool and Wolverine, All the Light We Cannot See and The Adam Project.

“Many smarter people than me have already said this: it's about integrating these technologies responsibly while keeping the creative voice a priority, rather than potentially replacing it. I believe that what a creative voice and vision provides is unique and unrepeatable. But if we can use these new AI capabilities to support storytelling within a creative and human-centered workflow, then I think that's something to be welcomed rather than feared.”

Regulation is key, Levy said.“I spend some of my time every day trying to better understand [artificial intelligence] regulatory options,” he said. “I think it will be necessary, but I think that burying your head in the sand and pretending that this is not just a sudden phenomenon, but an integral part of our lives, not only the lives of filmmakers, but also the lives of people, would be naive and stupid.”

Photo: Ryan Gosling and Shawn Levy at the Star Wars Celebration Japan 2025.