Skeleton Crew has been warmly received by critics and audiences alike so far. Could the series be exactly what Star Wars needs right now? A few thoughts:
Let’s address the elephant in the galaxy: Star Wars has kind of lost its way and the franchise has been in steep decline ever since The Force Awakens or The Last Jedi, depending where you land on grumpy Luke.
The last couple of years have been particularly bumpy for the galaxy far, far away. Of the seven live action Star Wars shows released in the last five years, only Andor and The Mandalorian seem to have stuck around and made some kind of an impact. Andor season 2 is on the horizon in 2025 and Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin is set to return on the big screen in The Mandalorian and Grogu, which recently wrapped filming.
But then there are shows like Obi-Wan Kenobi and The Acolyte which we’re still not ready to talk about. It’s just too painful. Even Ahsoka and The Book Of Boba Fett have somewhat faded from memory, at least for this writer. Granted, the animated Star Wars shows are doing far better, but the live action universe is in desperate need of something to rescue it.
Which brings us to Skeleton Crew. The series, which premiered on Disney+ in early December, adopts a more whimsical tone, and is appropriate for younger audiences too. It follows four kids who end up lost in the galaxy and need to find their way home, a planet which they discover has been hidden from the rest of the galaxy. Jude Law stars as the mysterious, slightly shady Jod Na Nawood, who claims to be able to use the Force, but something tells us there’s more to this chap than he’s telling us.
In many ways, Skeleton Crew goes back to what George Lucas intended Star Wars to be in the 1970s and early 80s; aimed at 12-year-olds but enjoyed by people of all ages. It’s light-hearted, intriguing and a lot of fun. With kids as the protagonists, Skeleton Crew is almost like a more satisfying version of The Phantom Menace – and without Jar Jar Binks.
Most importantly, three episodes in, Skeleton Crew isn’t trying to force a connection to previous Star Wars projects. Naturally, it takes place in the same universe as all the previous films and shows, but so far, there are no cameos and no tired references to a character only known to people who watched one specific episode of The Clone Wars. It’s hugely refreshing, and for a franchise that’s been teetering on the edge of becoming stale, it could be the lifeline Disney and Lucasfilm have been looking for.
Showrunners Jon Watts and Christopher Ford have assembled a pretty impressive group of directors to helm each of the eight episodes. Watts, who made Tom Holland’s Spider-Man trilogy, directed the show’s pilot and will return to direct the finale. Skeleton Crew’s six other episodes are steered by David Lowery, Lee Isaac Chung, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Bryce Dallas Howard – somewhat of a Star Wars regular – and Jake Scheier.
The problem, at least for this writer, is that Star Wars has lost its sense of adventure in recent years. Compare The Rise Of Skywalker to Return Of The Jedi. Both films deal with some pretty big, dark subjects, but Return Of The Jedi, like all of the original trilogy films, does so with just the right amount of humour. It’s still fun, whereas The Rise Of The Skywalker is not only messy, but kind of depressing.
In recent years, Star Wars has begun to take itself far too seriously. Everything is a matter of life and death, and the future of the galaxy seems to be at stake in every new TV show. It’s frankly exhausting, and Skeleton Crew feels like an antidote to that, a direct response to what fans and critics have criticised the franchise for. Certain corners of the internet have also accused Star Wars having gone “woke”. We’re still not entirely sure what that means, but we’re holding out for hope that Star Wars continues to be the inclusive, diverse universe it always has been. This hasn’t been a recent development, either; it’s what Star Wars has always been about.
The franchise has also been accused of prioritising toy sales over real characters. Grogu, Babu Frik, the Porgs and Vulptices all seem to have been developed with plushies or action figures in mind, but you could argue the same about the Ewoks. Skeleton Crew doesn’t entirely escape this either; Neel, an elephant like creature, is undeniably adorable and acts largely as the film’s comic relief alongside droid SM-33, voiced by Nick Frost. Disney will likely make an absolute killing selling Neel toys, but it’s hard to hate such a lovable creature, much like it’s impossible to hate Grogu.
We’ve also recently been reporting on several disappointing updates on various Star Wars films that aren’t being made. It seems that The Mandalorian and Grogu is one of the few projects announced that is actually making it onto the big screen. Clearly, something isn’t working behind the scenes, and the entire franchise is a little lost. Skeleton Crew certainly isn’t perfect; it has a lot of conflicting tones that don’t always mix well, but there’s more potential here than in other recent Star Wars projects. What many fans need right now is hope that there’s still some life left in Star Wars – and even with its flaws, Skeleton Crew offers some of that hope.
Ultimately, it’s all about balance. It’s still early days for Skeleton Crew, but if the remaining five episodes manage to mix the series’ trademark magic with a meaningful story and classic action, we might be onto a winner here.
A new episode of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew streams each Wednesday on Disney+.
