Mikey Madison Is 'Totally Open' to a Franchise After Passing on Starfighter
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Speaking at The Social Reckoning premiere, Mikey Madison said she is open to doing a franchise or blockbuster someday. She was reportedly approached to play Starfighter's villain, a part Mia Goth took.
A galaxy far, far away has a very specific problem: the actors who say no get as much coverage as the ones who say yes. This week it is Mikey Madison's turn to answer for the one that got away.
What she said
At the premiere of The Social Reckoning, Aaron Sorkin's follow-up to The Social Network (in theaters October 9), the Anora Oscar winner was asked by Variety about franchise work. Her answer, as quoted by NetflixJunkie: "I'm totally open to doing like a franchise or like a blockbuster movie one day. To me, it's really just about the character, the people I get to work with, my fellow actors."
Worth being precise here: by that outlet's account, she did not directly discuss Star Wars: Starfighter in that exchange. The Star Wars framing comes from the headlines, which connect her to the role she turned down. She plays Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen in the Sorkin film.
The role she passed on
Madison was reportedly approached in spring 2025 to play the villain in Shawn Levy's Starfighter, the Ryan Gosling-led film set about five years after The Rise of Skywalker and due in theaters May 28, 2027. She declined. The Hollywood Reporter reported at the time that the reason was money, with /Film summarizing that she "wasn't okay with the salary that Disney offered her." That was reported, not confirmed by Madison, and she has not addressed pay publicly in the interview above.
Mia Goth then took the part. The A.V. Club, citing Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, described it as a villainous "pursuer" tasked with targeting the young person Gosling's character has to protect.
Why I keep thinking about it
Casting what-ifs are fun, but they rarely survive contact with the finished film, and I would not read too much into a red-carpet answer. What I take from it is that she is not closing the door on a franchise. The next few years are full of Star Wars projects, with Starfighter on May 28, 2027 and Ahsoka season 2 on January 20. A Madison part in some future Star Wars story is not a prediction. It is a possibility, and she is the one who raised it.
For now the villain's chair belongs to Goth, and Starfighter will have to earn its place without the what-if hanging over it.
May the Force be with us.
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