Although Ryan Gosling has been known to take on some major leading roles, he’s yet to commit to an ongoing franchise.

The 3x Oscar nominee recently explained why those kinds of projects “never felt right” until Shawn Levy‘s Star Wars: Starfighter, which went into production last fall and is scheduled to premiere May 28, 2027 in theaters.

“It was Shawn’s enthusiasm and his vision and the script,” Gosling told io9. “And I just avoided these things because they never felt right. And I’m glad I did because I feel like, [similar to] a book like this, [it was] worth waiting for. And it is like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

A standalone film outside the Skywalker saga, Starfighter is set five years after Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker (2019). Penned by Jonathan Tropper, the movie stars Gosling, Matt Smith, Mia Goth, Aaron Pierre, Simon Bird, Jamael Westman, Daniel Ings, Flynn Gray and Amy Adams.

Gosling previously praised the installment as “such a great story with great and original characters,” as well as “so much heart and adventure,” adding: “There is not a more perfect filmmaker for this particular story than Shawn.”

While the actor has played Ken in Barbie (2023) and starred alongside Harrison Ford in Blade Runner (2049), he’s yet to play the same character twice. With familiar faces constantly popping up in the ever-expanding Lucasfilm universe, Gosling could be up for a potential return down the road.