Story and cast
Squadron 42 is set in 2945 during the Vega II events: you are a rookie in the UEE Navy's 42nd Squadron, serving aboard the UEES Stanton with a crew - and a cast led by Mark Hamill, Gary Oldman, Gillian Anderson and Henry Cavill.
Squadron 42 is set in 2945, during the events of Vega II, as the United Empire of Earth faces threats both human and alien. You enlist as a rookie in the UEE Navy and fly with the celebrated 42nd Squadron, serving aboard the capital ship UEES Stanton. Around you: a crew and a cast led by Mark Hamill, Gary Oldman, Gillian Anderson and Henry Cavill, all captured with full performance capture.
The war you are joining
The campaign's frame is a navy at war on two fronts. Since the Vega II attack, the UEE has been fighting the Vanduul - the alien power that appears throughout official imagery - while human outlaw factions press from the frontier. CIG's own logline for the game puts it plainly: the Empire stands on the brink, and the Navy needs you. The story is built as a military career with a beginning and an end - you start as nobody, and the campaign is the story of the rank you earn.
The 42nd, and the ship you call home
You join the UEE Navy's 42nd Squadron, a celebrated unit, and deploy aboard the UEES Stanton - a capital ship assigned to the 5th Fleet's 87th Battlegroup in the Odin system. The ship is not just set dressing: official descriptions commit to living and working alongside the crew between missions, walking the decks, and building relationships that the story then uses.
The cast, in full
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Mark Hamill | Lt. Cdr. Steve "Old Man" Colton, veteran flight instructor |
| Gary Oldman | Admiral Ernst Bishop |
| Gillian Anderson | Captain Rachel MacLaren |
| Henry Cavill | Ryan Enright |
| Mark Strong | Captain Thomas Wade |
| John Rhys-Davies | Randall Graves |
| Liam Cunningham | Captain Noah White |
| Ben Mendelsohn | Julian Wexler |
| Andy Serkis | Thul'Oqquray |
| Rhona Mitra | Executive Officer Kelly |
| Jack Huston | Cal Mason |
| Sophie Wu | Cara "Web" Webster |
| Eleanor Tomlinson | Saic Rebecca Trejo |
| Sandi Roberts | Nayara "Pusher" Fell |
| Ian Duncan | The player character's performance |
The ensemble was revealed in full alongside the 10 October 2026 Steam launch - more than a decade after the original cast announcement - and their performances are integrated into the game itself rather than reserved for cutscenes. The capture work was shot at The Imaginarium through mid-2024 and folded into the campaign's cinematic backbone.
The music
The score is composed by Geoff Zanelli, with tracks such as Bishop Speech, Cutlass Tango and Old Man Teaser already public. It is the kind of orchestral military dressing the material deserves.
Where this sits in the wider story
Squadron 42 shares its universe, its engine (StarEngine) and its lineage with Star Citizen, but the two are separate products with separate purposes - the comparison page lays them out. For the campaign itself, treat the story pages of the wider internet carefully: the game is unreleased, and CIG has its own pacing for what it reveals. What is on this page comes from the official material; the rest belongs to the game.
