Star Wars Casts Young Palpatine Actor For New Sequel

Production on the next set of Star Wars films is getting well underway, as new casting rumours and leaks have begun surfacing over the last few months.

The next couple of years will be quite important for Star Wars. Not only is the series’ 50th anniversary looming, but we’re also getting several new films in the form of The Mandalorian & Grogu, and Star Wars: Starfighter.

The latter film, which is being directed by Stranger Things and Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy, will star Ryan Gosling and Mia Goth in the lead roles.

But now a new report seems to have confirmed who will be playing the villain.

According to Deadline, Matt Smith has been cast in “one of the villain roles”, but it doesn’t specify who he will be playing.

Smith, famous for playing the Eleventh Doctor in Doctor Who and Prince Philip in Netflix's The Crown, will be joining Gosling and Goth when shooting begins later this year.

It should be noted that Smith was previously attached to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, where he was cast as a younger version of Palpatine.

Whether that meant he was playing a clone of Palps, his son, or a flashback version of the character is unknown.

However, he was eventually cut from the film, which he later said was due to his role becoming “obsolete”.

As Deadline reports, Star Wars: Starfighter will begin shooting “this fall” so expect more casting details to crop up over the next few months. There are still a number of key roles we expect have yet to be confirmed.

As we previously learned, the film is set five years after The Rise of Skywalker, making this the furthest along in the Star Wars timeline once it releases, and will likely tie-in to other Star Wars projects being made around this era.

Star Wars: Starfighter is set for release in cinemas on 28th May, 2027, which will also coincide with the 50th anniversary of the franchise.