SKELETON CREW Review & Behind-the-Scenes Fun Facts
STAR WARS: SKELETON CREW is a love letter to Star Wars, right from the opening moments. It’s clear from talking with the showrunners and young cast that this story was as exciting to make as it is to watch. What a gift for the holiday season!
Skeleton Crew Review
The eight-episode Disney+ series follows the journey of four children – 2 pairs of best friends. They make a mysterious discovery on their seemingly safe home planet. From there they get lost in the strange and dangerous galaxy, running into pirates, droids, and more. Much like THE WIZARD OF OZ, the kids must find their way home. The above poster bills SKELETON CREW as “A Star Wars Adventure” – and that’s exactly what you get. The show is rated TV PG and is geared for adults, so make sure you screen it before sharing with your younglings, especially the opening scene.
Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers) and Neel (Robert Timothy-Smith) are neighbors and best friends. Wim is obsessed with adventure and the idea of Jedi, while Neel is a kind-hearted soul. The wave of social media love for this cute blue elephant-like alien has manifested itself into #NeelNation. After seeing the first three episodes, I predict this love for Neel will only grow. In a special Star Wars Fan Site roundtable, Timothy-Smith said that he really wanted to make Neel very sweet and kind to the people around him.
Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) and KB (Kyriana Kratter) make up the female best friend pair, but both are in traditional male roles. This role reversal is a breath of fresh air! When Armstrong first put on Fern’s outfit, it made her think of Han Solo, and she modeled her character after him and a string of “bad boys”. KB is a half-human, half-cyborg with various implants including a visor that looks a lot like Lobot’s in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. She is the “tech” on the team – like Geordi La Forge in STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION, Egon in GHOSTBUSTERS, or Data in THE GOONIES. Kratter mentioned that she tried to balance her human traits with more robotic delivery to create KB.
These two best friend pairs loathe each other initially, which makes for classic storytelling conflict. Since they are all stuck together on an adventure through the Star Wars galaxy, eventually the four must learn to work together.
It’s not until the end of the first episode that we see Jude Law as Jod Na Nawood. In trailers, we’ve seen him possibly using the Force. Is he a Jedi, is he not? Wim certainly thinks so. Jod is a slippery character with street smarts and connections to pirates. He looks at every situation as an opportunity to get ahead, and running into these kids is no exception. Jod and the children must use each other and work together, perhaps reluctantly, to find their way home.
Easter Eggs
Fans of Star Wars Easter eggs – SKELETON CREW has you covered! From the opening shots and dialogue that is patterned after the opening scene in STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE, to a Star Wars Holiday Special reference, this show has everything! For a tease on the Holiday Special Easter egg, watch showrunners Jon Watts and Chris Ford discuss its creation:
SKELETON CREW does not limit itself to only Star Wars references, it branches out into other George Lucas-affiliated properties. The pink creature you’ve seen in trailers that looks like CAPTAIN EO’s Fuzzball? That’s an overt nod to CAPTAIN EO and Lucasfilm’s involvement. What blew us away is the AMERICAN GRAFFITI nod – comment below if you found it! And finally, if you’re familiar with the Disney theme parks and a certain Pirate attraction, you will be rewarded.
Music
Mick Giacchino, SKELETON CREW composer, is dipping his toes into the Star Wars music scene for the first time. That surname may sound familiar, and indeed Mick is the son of Oscar-winning composer Michael Giacchino (composer UP, STAR TREK (2009), THE BATMAN), who famously composed the ROGUE ONE soundtrack in four weeks. We were first aware of Mick in his excellent score for HBO’s THE PENGUIN (2024) series. For SKELETON CREW, Mick has created an adventurous score that underlines the excitement of action scenes, in the vein of HOOK or THE GOONIES. But the absolute best part of this score is a pirate sea shanty theme that weaves its way throughout the series. Reminiscent of “Yo Ho, A Pirate’s Life For Me,” the tune will never leave your head.
For more behind-the-scenes information straight from showrunners Jon Watts and Christopher Ford, check out our Roundtable. To watch more insight from the young actors, check out our second Roundtable.
SKELETON CREW launches December 2nd at 6:00 p.m. PST, exclusively on Disney+. Subsequent episodes will stream on Tuesdays at 6:00 p.m. PST for the remainder of the season. Will you be watching? Follow @skywalkingpod for more behind-the-scenes info on the series.
