Disney’s upcoming Star Wars: Starfighter has already accumulated more than $226 million in production costs, according to newly reported financial disclosures, raising serious questions about Lucasfilm’s blockbuster budget spending as the once-dominant franchise struggles to recapture its theatrical audience.
In an October 22 report published by Forbes, entertainment business journalist Caroline Reid revealed that the Shawn Levy-directed film has accumulated $226.5 million in spending, an extraordinary figure for a production that will not arrive in theaters until May 2027.
The revelation comes at a particularly uncomfortable moment for Disney, following the disappointing theatrical performance of The Mandalorian and Grogu earlier this year.
Star Wars: Starfighter Production Costs Raise Concerns
According to Reid’s reporting, financial disclosures associated with the film’s British production company, Blue Mist Productions, reveal that spending had reached $226.5 million through January 31, 2026.
The production has benefited from approximately $51.5 million in British government tax reimbursements, reducing its reported net expenditure to roughly $175 million.
However, neither figure represents a confirmed final production budget for Starfighter.
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 08: Dave Filoni attends the Ahsoka panel at Start Wars Celebration 2023 in London at ExCel on April 08, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Disney)
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Additional post-production expenditures could increase the total considerably, while Disney must also account for the substantial marketing and distribution expenses associated with a major theatrical release.
Reid’s report makes a particularly revealing comparison with Star Wars: The Force Awakens, noting that Starfighter has already exceeded the earlier film’s spending at a comparable stage.
That comparison doesn’t mean Starfighter will ultimately cost more than The Force Awakens. In fact, Reid’s previous examination of Disney’s financial disclosures placed the latter film’s accumulated production costs at approximately $638.9 million before tax reimbursements.
Nevertheless, the early spending illustrates the enormous financial commitment Disney is making to another theatrical installment.
Disney No Longer Has the Star Wars Audience It Once Enjoyed
When The Force Awakens arrived in December 2015, the circumstances could hardly have been more favorable.
The return of Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher helped generate extraordinary anticipation for the first theatrical Star Wars adventure in a decade. The film ultimately earned approximately $2.07 billion worldwide.
But the franchise’s subsequent theatrical performance tells a considerably less encouraging story.
John Boyega as Finn in Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens – Disney+
The Last Jedi earned approximately $1.33 billion worldwide in 2017, followed by The Rise of Skywalker with roughly $1.07 billion in 2019.
Although both films generated substantial revenue, the downward trajectory was unmistakable.
Disney also experienced a significant commercial disappointment with 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story, which earned approximately $393 million worldwide.
The situation became even more concerning in 2026.
The Mandalorian and Grogu, which brought two of Disney’s most recognizable modern Star Wars characters to theaters, finished its theatrical run with approximately $342 million worldwide.
The film’s performance raised questions about whether the popularity of a streaming television property could translate into sufficient theatrical demand. Now Lucasfilm is preparing to release another expensive production without the benefit of established characters carrying the story.
Can Ryan Gosling Bring Audiences Back to Star Wars?
Directed by Shawn Levy and starring Ryan Gosling, Star Wars: Starfighter is scheduled for release on May 28, 2027.
Unlike the sequel trilogy, the film is not being marketed around the return of the original trilogy’s iconic heroes. Instead, it introduces a new adventure featuring characters audiences have not previously encountered.
That approach offers Lucasfilm an opportunity to move beyond the increasingly divisive legacy of its sequel trilogy.
A look at Ryan Gosling’s character in the upcoming Star Wars: Starfighter movie – Lucasfilm
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However, it also creates a significant commercial challenge.
Gosling brings considerable name recognition, and Levy has experience directing successful mainstream entertainment. Neither advantage, however, guarantees that audiences will embrace another expensive Star Wars production.
The franchise’s recent history suggests that the Star Wars name alone can no longer be counted upon to deliver the enormous theatrical returns Disney enjoyed a decade ago.
That makes the reported spending on Starfighter particularly noteworthy.
Star Wars Faces an Increasingly Expensive Gamble
A film with a $175 million net production cost already represents a substantial investment. If additional expenditures push that figure significantly higher, Disney’s path toward profitability becomes more demanding.
Studios don’t retain every dollar earned at the box office, as theaters receive a portion of ticket sales. Marketing expenses also add substantially to the amount a film must recover.
At a hypothetical final net production cost of $250 million, a simplified industry benchmark of 2.5 times the production budget would suggest approximately $625 million in worldwide ticket sales as a rough break-even target. Actual profitability would depend on marketing, theatrical revenue splits, and additional income sources.
A screencap from The Mandalorian and Grogu – YouTube, Star Wars
For comparison, that hypothetical target would be more than $280 million above the worldwide theatrical earnings of The Mandalorian and Grogu.
None of this establishes that Starfighter will fail commercially. Its final budget remains unknown, and audiences have yet to judge the finished film.
But the underlying concern is difficult to dismiss.
A piece of the Mandalorian and Grogu movie poster – Disney
Disney is continuing to make enormous financial commitments to Star Wars at a time when the franchise’s ability to consistently attract blockbuster-sized theatrical audiences is increasingly uncertain.
For Lucasfilm, Starfighter is becoming more than another attempt to launch a new generation of characters. It’s an expensive test of whether Star Wars can still command the audience necessary to justify the extraordinary sums Disney continues to spend on it.
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