“Last week Steven Spielberg was here. And now Tom Cruise is wielding a camera, ruining his very nice shoes.”

Tom Cruise filmed a lightsaber duel for Shawn Levy’s Star Wars: Starfighter: ‘How cool is that?’

"Last week Steven Spielberg was here. And now Tom Cruise is wielding a camera, ruining his very nice shoes."

By Shania Russell

Shania Russell

Shania Russell is a news writer at *, *with five years of experience. Her work has previously appeared in SlashFilm and Paste Magazine.

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January 8, 2026 2:03 p.m. ET

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Tom Cruise; Ryan Gosling on the set of 'Star Wars: Starfighter'. Credit:

Shane Anthony Sinclair/Getty; Shawn Levy/Instagram

Tom Cruise has officially made his mark on the* Star Wars *universe. And yes, it did involve a lightsaber.

Shawn Levy, the director behind next year's *Star Wars: Starfighter*, recently revealed to *The New York Times* that Cruise was one of many A-listers to visit the set of the mysterious new Star Wars film. And in typical Cruise fashion, just watching an exciting day of production unfold wasn't enough — he also had to get in on the action.

Cruise's visit just so happened to align with Levy shooting one of the movie's big lightsaber duels, prompting the director to jokingly suggest that the *Top Gun: Maverick* star pick up a camera and help out with filming. To his shock, Cruise obliged.

"Last week Steven Spielberg was here. And now Tom Cruise is wielding a camera, ruining his very nice shoes," Levy exclaimed.

Tom Cruise attends the 'Mission: Impossible: The Final Reckoning' New York premiere on May 18, 2025.

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty

As described by the outlet, Cruise arrived to set in a helicopter that November morning, as the crew blared the *Mission: Impossible* theme over the loudspeakers. Before long, he was behind the camera and "up to his ankles in mud and pond water" as the duel unfolded.

Per the Times, "He wore a look of great concentration as he stooped over a digital camera, trying to frame the perfect shot."

Levy, who was in disbelief, quipped, "Now when you see the movie, you’ll know that part of it was shot by Tom. I mean, how cool is that?”

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Shawn Levy shares new look at a seafaring Ryan Gosling in 'Star Wars: Starfighter'

Thus far, Cruise's behind-the-scenes contribution to a lightsaber battle is one of few details that Levy has shared about the upcoming *Star Wars* tentpole. Ryan Gosling headlines the film, which Levy has described as a "standalone" project set in "a period of time that we haven't seen explored yet." The film also stars Flynn Gray, Matt Smith, Mia Goth, Aaron Pierre, and Amy Adams, among others.

Elsewhere in his conversation with the *Times*, Levy got emotional when asked about his tendency to tell stories about fathers and sons (think *Real Steel, Night at the Museum*, and *The Adam Project*). While reflecting on that common theme in his work, the filmmaker hinted that *Starfighter* will keep the trend going.

Ryan Gosling and Flynn Gray on the set of 'Star Wars: Starfighter'.

"I have never, ever connected it before," admitted Levy, who was estranged from his father until the age of 13. "I'm a little embarrassed because you’re going to have to mention that I got emotional. But I could never figure out why I kept coming back to these stories of a 13-year-old boy being saved by a man. There was something defining about that moment for me. And with *Star Wars*, I’m doing so again."

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*Starfighter, *which is due in theaters next year, boasts a script from *Banshee* and *Warrior* creator Jonathan Tropper. Production on the film concluded in December.

Speaking to * *last year, Levy said that making the film has been "hard as hell" but worth every second.

"It is surreal and awesome every day walking onto this set, to have made up a new and original *Star Wars* story that is neither a sequel nor a prequel to anything," he said. "I have deep respect and love for this historic legacy, but a chance to do something fresh and original and to do it with Jonathan Tropper, the writer of *The Adam Project*, and with Gosling... It's dream-come-true territory every day."

*Star Wars: Starfighter *opens in theaters May 28, 2027.**

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Source: “EW Star”