Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is an American science fictionadventure television series created by Jon Watts and Christopher Ford for the streaming service Disney+. It is part of the Star Wars franchise, taking place in the same time frame as the The Mandalorian series and its interconnected spin-offs after the events of the film Return of the Jedi (1983). Skeleton Crew tells a coming-of-age story about four children who make a discovery on their home planet, get lost in the galaxy, and go on an adventure to get back home.
Jude Law stars in the series with Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Kyriana Kratter, Robert Timothy Smith, and Nick Frost. Watts approached Lucasfilm about telling an Amblin Entertainment-style coming-of-age story set in the Star Wars universe, and he was developing the series with Ford by early 2022. It was officially announced that May at Star Wars Celebration, with Law revealed to be starring. Filming began by September 2022 in Los Angeles, and wrapped by late January 2023. The child actors in the series were revealed in April 2023. Kathleen Kennedy, Jon Favreau, and Dave Filoni returned from The Mandalorian as additional executive producers.
Skeleton Crew premiered on Disney+ on December 2, 2024, with its first two episodes.
Premise
Four children end up on an adventure to make their way home after being lost in the galaxy following a discovery they make on their home planet At Attin while befriending a Force-user.[1]
Cast and characters
Starring
Jude Law as Jod Na Nawood: A Force-user who allies with the children.[2][3] Law described Jod as a quick thinker who uses his charm to get out of different scenarios.[3]
Kyriana Kratter as KB: A human girl and friend of Fern from the planet At Attin who wears a cybernetic visor connected to an implant on her head.[3]
Robert Timothy Smith as Neel: An unidentified elephant-like alien boy who is Wim's friend from the planet At Attin.[3] Kacie Borrowman serves as the performance artist for Neel.
Nick Frost as the voice of SM-33: The decrepit droid first mate of the Onyx Cinder.[4] Rob Ramsdell serves as the performance artist for SM-33.
Kerry Condon as Fara: Fern's mom who works as a teacher and undersecretary on At Attin.[5]
Alia Shawkat as the voice of Kh'ymm: An unidentified owl/otter-like alien and map expert with a testy allyship with Jod.
Hala Finley as Hayna: A child soldier in the Troika clan on At Achrann.
Mathieu Kassovitz as General Strix: The leader of the Troika clan on At Achrann and father of Hayna.
Kelly Macdonald as Pokkit: A freelance gun for hire and former partner of Jod's.
Other co-stars
Fred Tatasciore as the voice of Brutus, a Shistavanen member of Jod's pirate crew who led a mutiny against him and took over.[6]Stephen Oyoung serves as the performance artist for Brutus.
Dominic Burgess as Beef, a humanoid pirate of indeterminate species
Paloma Garcia-Lee as Melna, a woman on Port Borgo who is concerned about the children's presence there.
Alan Resnick as Tuut Orial, a pirate merchant on Port Borgo.
Anthony Atamanuik as the voice of an unidentified fry cook on Port Borgo. David St. Pierre serves as the performance artist for the unidentified fry cook.
John Gemberling as the voice of a greasy pirate customer on Port Borgo. Dane DiLiegro serves as the performance artist for the greasy pirate customer.
Alfred Molina as the voice of Benjar Pranic, an Ishi Tib pirate. Alexander Ward serves as the performance artist for Benjar Pranic.
Julie Ann Emery as Hotelier, an employee of the spa and hotel on Lanupa.
Patrick Seitz as the voice of Cthallops, a large unidentified alien patron on Lanupa who helps Jod's group get into Tak Rennod's hidden base.
Somewhere in outer space, Captain Silvo leads a raid on a ship. When no currency can be found, his crew member Brutus incites a mutiny. On the fairly modern planet of At Attin, Wim and his friend Neel prepare to take aptitude exams to determine their future. Wim implies that he wishes he were a Jedi, despite Neel's retort that that would be impossible. Meanwhile, truant students Fern and KB spend most of their time riding a hoverbike around town. When Wim misses the bus, he takes his own bike but falls into a ditch, where he discovers what he thinks is a Jedi temple. He is found by a droid who takes him to school but is subsequently admonished by his workaholic father, Wendle, who tells him that he needs to make up the exam. Wim convinces Neel to visit the "temple" with him, with Fern (who overheard his claim) and KB following as well. The group finds a hatch and enters, only to learn that it is really a long-abandoned spaceship. Wim pushes a button that activates the ship, lifting them away. Wendle watches in horror as the ship takes his son and friends deep into space.
The kids meet the ship's pilot, an aging droid named SM-33 who does not realize that his captain is long gone. Fern convinces him that she is his new captain, and he takes them to a nearby outpost, as At Attin is not on any map. The kids venture through the outpost and accidentally split up, during which Wim uses his "lunch money" to buy food only to learn that his currency is considered very valuable. When he tells the locals that he is from At Attin, everyone laughs as they tell him that "At Attin" is the name of a lost planet that holds a hidden treasure. A gang of pirates try to seize the kids by force to enslave them. SM-33 intervenes and tries to protect the children but is quickly overwhelmed and gunned down. Brutus has the children thrown in the brig. Down there, they meet Silvo, who introduces himself as Jod Na Nawood and reveals that he is Force-sensitive and has some usable knowledge. Wim, believing him to be a Jedi, agrees to work together so they can escape, with Jod offering to take the kids back to their ship as long as he gets to come with them.
3
"Very Interesting, as an Astrogation Problem"
David Lowery
Christopher Ford & Jon Watts
December 10, 2024 (2024-12-10)
On At Attin, Wendle, Fara, Neel's mother Nooma, and KB's parents Maree and Garree are told by a Security Droid that due to the kids going past the barrier, it is out of the jurisdiction of the droids. Jod helps the kids escape the brig, but they refuse to leave without SM-33, forcing him to go back and rescue him as Brendar Pranic identifies Jod as Silvo. They outwit the pirates and flee. Fern refuses to trust Jod, Wim and Neel are convinced that he is a real Jedi, and KB reluctantly admits that he is their only hope of getting home. Jod takes the kids to meet his "friend" Kh'ymm, a map expert that even he doesn't trust. Kh'ymm refers to Jod as "Crimson Jack" before revealing that At Attin is among a series of legendary planets that have protected themselves with a barrier. She prints the coordinates, but Jod realizes that she was stalling for the authorities to arrive and forces the kids to flee. Jod finally admits that he is not a Jedi, but agrees that they must work together to get what they want and escape the authorities to their next destination. X-Wing Commander Kent interrogates Kh'ymm about the group's whereabouts as she quotes "you wouldn't believe me if I told you".
The crew use Kh'ymm's coordinates to arrive at, what they believe to be, At Attin. The planet turns out to resemble a war torn version of it, and later they learn that they are actually on At Achrann, one of the sister planets. Jod stays on the ship with SM-33 while the kids venture out. They run into soldiers who identify themselves as Troiks who have been at war with the Hattans, who have stolen their Eopies. Neel befriends a young girl soldier named Hayna, whose father General Strix insists that the children be treated like adults. Neel does not take to the violent lifestyle, preferring a more humane approach. The kids are to aid the Troiks in getting their Eopies back, but Jod and SM-33 buy them back from the Hattans. As a reward, they are directed to the "Fallen Sanctum" which resembles the Supervisor's tower on At Attin. The crew find that it contains the coordinates to other similar planets, but At Attin's has been scratched out. SM-33 reveals that he destroyed it, but his memory has been wiped. Fern orders him to remember and he reveals that At Attin is where the former captain hid his treasure. Suddenly, SM-33 attacks the group as part of an order from the previous captain. Jod turns him off and Neel faints after helping to save his friends.
On At Attin, the parents desperately try to send a message to beyond the barrier, but are stopped. Fara admits to Wendle that they have to go behind the Supervisor's back. The Crew manage to restrain SM-33 and alter his programming so that he doesn't attack. He reveals that the hidden treasure belonged to famed pirate Tak Rennod, meaning that the ship they are on is the Onyx Cinder. SM-33 agrees to take them to his hidden base, which has since been turned into a luxury planet called Lanupa. Jod disguises the kids as elders as they arrive on the planet. Unfortunately, he is spotted by former partner Pokkit who is freelance and outs his location to Brutus. With help from the patron Cthallops, the Crew make their way deep into Lanupa's hidden caves and maneuver through booby traps until they find Rennod's hidden base. They find the coordinates to At Attin and learn that the "treasure" is a mint that creates infinite credits. Jod suddenly turns on the children and challenges Fern to captain, urging her to yield. After doing so, the kids make an escape and Jod picks up a lightsaber.
In February 2022, Production Weekly revealed the existence of an upcoming, untitled Star Wars series that was being developed under the working titleGrammar Rodeo.[12]Jon Watts was reportedly being considered to direct at least one episode of the series, with Jon Favreau serving as an executive producer after creating the Star Wars series The Mandalorian. The new series was reported to be set during the High Republic era, with a formal announcement planned for Star Wars Celebration in May 2022.[13][14] In mid-May, Watts and Christopher Ford were revealed to have created the series, with the pair executive producing and Ford serving as writer. The series was also revealed to be set after the events of Return of the Jedi (1983), just like The Mandalorian, and was described as a "galactic version of classic [Amblin Entertainment] coming-of-age adventure films of the '80s".[15]
Watts initially pitched the series as a film right after the release of his Marvel Cinematic Universe film Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), but his commitments with Marvel Studios led him to delay the project until he finished doing Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) due to the success of Homecoming, a period during which Favreau made The Mandalorian so Watts shaped his project into a television series to "spend more time" in the galaxy far, far away, starting his work upon completing No Way Home.[16] During Star Wars Celebration at the end of May 2022, the series' title was revealed to be Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.[17]Dave Filoni was serving as an executive producer after doing the same on The Mandalorian and its other spin-off series alongside Favreau.[18] Another executive producer, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, explained that Watts had approached her about making a Star Wars series inspired by the Amblin film The Goonies (1985). Kennedy, who had served as an executive producer on that film and as co-founder of Amblin Entertainment, said Skeleton Crew "evolved out of that kind of enthusiasm in wanting to tell stories in this space". Favreau felt that when Watts and Ford had pitched the series to Kennedy, they were "speaking right to the person who was there and knows the 11 herbs and spices that go into it".[19][20] Ford said Kennedy told them that she never thought of Amblin's films as being for kids, but rather being stories that "just happen to be about kids, a story of a kid going on an adventure". This inspired him to develop the show for audiences of all ages.[21]
Myung Joh Wesner also serves as writer on the series, alongside Ford and Watts.[9]Skeleton Crew was confirmed to occur within the same time frame as The Mandalorian and Ahsoka,[18] referencing those series along with the Star Wars films.[3] Ford had described Skeleton Crew's tone as being an "adventure", desiring to make it an enjoyable series, but also containing danger. He had further gone on to say that the situation would be "extra fraught" when the kids were in danger. Jude Law had said that his character was "a lot of the world that they experience: contradictory, and at times a place of nurture and other times a place of threat" and that the series would be conveyed through the perspective of the children. Law had also concurred with Ford in agreeing that the series would also depict danger, calling the relationship between the children and adults a "goofy relationship ... And then other times it's really quite dark and quite scary".[21] He added that he and the young cast were "in constant state of confusion and jeopardy and challenge", with Skeleton Crew depicting them working together to overcome those fears.[3] Favreau had also wanted the series to convey many tones that "reflects the storyteller of the filmmaker", which had been the same method he had used when working on The Mandalorian.[20]
Design
Louise Mingenbach serves as the costume designer.[25]
Casting
With the February 2022 reports, it was believed the series was looking for four teenage actors and one 30-to-40-year-old actor as its series regulars.[13][14] Casting of the four teenage actors was still underway in May 2022,[15] with Law revealed to be cast in the lead role, reported to be a Force-user, at the end of the month.[17] In April 2023, Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Kyriana Kratter, Robert Timothy Smith, and Ryan Kiera Armstrong were revealed as the series' lead children,[2][26] with Tunde Adebimpe and Kerry Condon also starring.[26] The next month, Jaleel White revealed that he would appear in the series as a pirate.[7][6] In July 2024, the series' key characters were revealed: Law portrays Jod Na Nawood, with Cabot-Conyers as Wim, Kratter as KB, Smith as Neel, and Armstrong as Fern. Nick Frost was also revealed to be voicing a droid in the series named SM-33.[3]
Filming
Principal photography had been happening for "a few weeks" by early September 2022,[27] at Manhattan Beach Studios in Los Angeles County,[13] under the working title Grammar Rodeo (a reference to The Simpsons's episode "Bart on the Road").[15] Filming was previously scheduled to take place from June to December.[13]Sean Porter,[28]David Klein, and Paul Hughen served as cinematographers.[29] The series utilized the StageCraft Volume technology in addition to stop-motion animation, headed by Phil Tippett, and matte paintings with one of Industrial Light & Magic's former painters coming out of retirement to work on the paintings.[30] Lowery said his episode included a member of the Teek species from the television film Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (1985) who was created using a puppet; Lowery enjoyed the combination of puppetry, which he called "the most ancient technology", and the series' other cutting-edge effects.[31] Filming officially wrapped on January 22, 2023.[32]
In November 2024, Mick Giacchino was revealed to have composed the score for the series. His father, Michael Giacchino, previously composed the score for the Star Wars film Rogue One (2016) as well as Watts's Marvel Cinematic UniverseSpider-Man films. Mick wanted the main theme for Skeleton Crew to "capture that feeling of being a kid, looking out at the twin suns, and knowing that there's an adventure out there waiting for you". It consists of a simple chord sequence arranged for "harps and synths to create this kind of whimsical floating feeling". Watts associated the opening four chords of the theme with the four main characters.[35] The score was recorded at the Newman Scoring Stage at the Fox Studio Lot.
Marketing
The first footage for the series was revealed at Star Wars Celebration London in April 2023.[2] The first official trailer and key art was released that August at Disney's D23 convention.[4]
Release
Skeleton Crew premiered on Disney+ on December 2, 2024, with its first two episodes. The other six episodes will be released weekly from December 10 to January 14, 2025.[9][10] A 2023 premiere was first announced at Star Wars Celebration in May 2022,[17] with White expecting the series to be released in November or December of that year.[7] By late 2023, Skeleton Crew was set to be released in 2024,[36][37] with a United States Copyright Office filing for the first episode indicating an approximate release in January.[38] By July 2024, the series was set to premiere on December 3, 2024,[3] before it was moved up a day in November to the December 2 date.[10]
Reception
Viewership
TVision estimated that Skeleton Crew was the top-streaming show from December 2–8.[39] In Canada, JustWatch calculated that Skeleton Crew was the sixth most-streamed show from December 2-8, while[40]Whip Media reported that Skeleton Crew was the fourth most-streamed original series in the U.S. for the week ending December 8.[41] TVision later announced that Skeleton Crew was the second most-streamed from December 9–15.[42]
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 90% of 100 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The website's critic consensus reads, "Evoking childlike wonder, Skeleton Crew is a swashbuckling Star Wars adventure that refreshingly keeps things simple."[43] On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, the series holds a score of 72/100, based on 23 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[44]
Alison Herman of Variety wrote, "Skeleton Crew takes Star Wars to new places only in the literal sense. But the show is able to nail its limited brief, and make a Star Wars show that's actually rooted in childhood rather than evoking memories of one's own."[45] Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "The generally low-stakes, thematically light, young-skewing romp takes us into under-explored corners of the seemingly boundless galaxy while feeling pleasantly familiar." Kelly Lawler of USA Today wrote, "What stands out most when watching the series is that it feels so very influenced; it's not just a Star Wars series, it's Star Wars plus something. It's gimmicky and not just a little cookie-cutter in its expansion of the sci-fi franchise, which gets diluted the more shows Disney+ cranks out."[46]
In a mixed review, Ben Travers of IndieWire wrote, "Star Wars: Skeleton Crew gets off to a depressingly familiar start, while bungling the introduction of its primary protagonists and generally plodding along until Jude Law pops up."[47] Zach Handlen of The Boston Globe wrote, "All of these assets are buried under one problem: this is a premise that doesn't know how to be a TV show yet."[48]
