Archive methodology: c. means approximate; a publication or release date is not a fictional date. A contemporary photo or promotional image is not a literal illustration of an unpictured earlier event. Cultural analysis is interpretation, not additional Canon dialogue.
The announced position in Canon
Lucasfilm stated that Star Wars: Starfighter takes place approximately five years after The Rise of Skywalker. Because the earlier film's events are dated to 35 ABY, the movie's announced placement is approximately 40 ABY. The date is approximate, not an in-story calendar printed on screen.
What has been officially revealed
By October 2026 Lucasfilm identified Ryan Gosling's character as Kade Auberon and described a cynical rogue confronted by a mysterious past. The actor and filmmakers also described a connection to an unusually fast starfighter. The film has a published theatrical release date of May 28, 2027.
What the chronology cannot yet claim
The complete narrative has not been released as of October 12, 2026. This article does not invent battles, alliances, deaths, the name of the ship, the identity of the antagonist, or the governmental status of any world in the future period. Confirmed promotional hints are kept separate from speculation.
The historical gap after Exegol
Events in The Rise of Skywalker ended in 35 ABY, after the defeat of Palpatine and the Final Order. The political reconstruction of the galaxy remains only partly documented in published stories. A five-year jump means the future film can introduce new characters without retroactively specifying a history that Lucasfilm has not yet described.
Anthropological research questions
When the film arrives, this entry can be expanded to examine how communities responded to the First Order's fall, whether galactic travel is reorganized, how family identities shape Kade's decisions, and whether military technologies continued to determine who could travel safely. Until then, these are questions, not claims of established history.
Interactive archive investigation
Is Starfighter's full story already established Canon in October 2026?
No. Its approximate post-Exegol placement, Kade Auberon, basic premise and 2027 release date are official. The detailed plot has not yet been released.
Choose which question you want to investigate. Each response explains the evidence without inventing a different fictional outcome.
Record the confirmed 40 ABY placement without assigning unsupported battles.
Canon · c. 11–40 ABY · Evidence and dating review
What the 2026 announcements establish, and what they do not
Lucasfilm announced that Star Wars: Starfighter will take place approximately five years after The Rise of Skywalker. A working timeline that dates the older story to 35 ABY can therefore label the new film's announced setting as approximately 40 ABY. This is a projection from a production announcement, not a scene date directly recorded within an already released narrative. Lucasfilm described the new film as a standalone adventure scheduled for May 28, 2027, and identified Ryan Gosling's lead character as Kade Auberon at D23 in August 2026.
The announcement calls Kade a rogue confronted by his mysterious past and reports Gosling's description of a connection with an exceptionally fast starfighter. These details are premises, not established historical outcomes. They do not identify the government ruling the galaxy in 40 ABY, verify that the First Order continues as a unified institution, or provide the names of unrevealed destinations. Neither the full plot nor the final status of Kade and his companions can be responsibly reconstructed before release. Similarly, a 2027 theatrical date belongs to the history of the film's distribution, not the fictional calendar.
Lucasfilm's October 2026 publishing announcement added a forthcoming prequel comic, Star Wars: Starfighter: The Rock Pirate of Kaneen, and a visual dictionary planned for the film's May 2027 release. Those are announced companion publications and prospective research sources, not presently documented events in the in-universe history. A later revision of this dossier should use the finished film and those materials once published, distinguishing primary narrative from promotional framing.
IDS's future research questions concern character identity, travel and institutions after Exegol. They remain questions rather than invented conclusions. The Rey family dossier demonstrates how earlier character histories can be anchored in published narratives, while the Luke and Lando entry shows what documented postwar research looks like when source material is already available.
Source register: Lucasfilm's August 2026 Starfighter report; Lucasfilm's October 2026 companion-publishing announcement. Distinguish publication facts, story scenes, reference-derived dating and original IDS cultural interpretation. Announced future releases are not completed fictional events.