What do we know about the new “Star Wars” series “Skeleton Crew” from creators Jon Watts (director of the Marvel/Sony ‘Spider-Man’ trilogy) and Christopher Ford (one of the writers on Watts’ “Spider-Man: Homecoming”)? Well, we know it has an Amblin vibe, with the producer citing things like “E.T.” and “The Goonies” as influences. And previously, Watts said, the series was “a story about a group of kids, about ten years old, from a tiny little planet who accidentally get lost in the ‘Star Wars’ galaxy. And it’s the story of their journey trying to find their way home.”
We also know Jude Law stars as a mysterious character with a level of connection to the Force, as well as some great directors involved like The Daniels (“Everything Everywhere All At Once”), and David Lower “The Green Knight”)
But that’s still vague, at least to some degree? Well, Law and co-creator Ford stopped by EW’s Dagobah Dispatch podcast this week and peeled back some of the layers, some of them anyhow.
“Skeleton Crew’s tone is an adventure,” Ford told EW. “We wanted it to be a lot of fun. But of course, along with adventure comes the downside of it, which is danger. And when the kids are in danger, it’s extra fraught. So we played with that, but overall we wanted it to be just a fun adventure.”
It’s been said that Jude Law might be playing one of the (now many?) Jedis who escaped Order 666, but the actor won’t confirm or deny such detail.
“I can’t tell you very much about my character,” the actor says. “He is someone the children meet on their attempt to get home. He is like a lot of the world that they experience: contradictory, and at times a place of nurture and other times a place of threat.”
Don’t be surprised if he’s an ex-Jedi—maybe someone who quit or was kicked out of the Jedi order before Palpatine wiped them out—or something of that nature, as that seems to be Lucasfilm’s work-around for explaining why there’s still all kinds of Jedis out there in the galaxy (like Ahsoka who rejected the Jedi Order and her teachings during “Star Wars: The Clone Wars”).
“Skeleton Crew” stars many relatively unknown kids, played by Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Kyriana Kratter, Robert Timothy Smith, and Ryan Kiera Armstrong. Tunde Adebimpe from the band (TV On The Radio), Kerry Condon, and Jaleel White also star in undisclosed roles.
And Law says the contradictions of light and dark will propel the show forward.
“Because it’s through their eyes,” he said of the series children, “at times there’s a sort of goofy nature and a goofy relationship between the kids and the adults. And then other times it’s really quite dark and quite scary, which I guess is what the world probably looks like to an awful lot of 11-year-olds.”
So, is it a show more aimed at younger “Star Wars” audiences? Not so, says Ford, who hopes it appeals to everyone in the same way, say, “Stand By Me” did.
“Hopefully, it can be for all ages,” he said. “When we told Kathy Kennedy about that, we wanted to go for that Amblin tone, which she perfected over the years; what she would say is that they never thought of those as movies for kids. They just happen to be about kids, a story of a kid going on an adventure. So it could be for anyone.”
That honestly sounds ideal. Now, can they stick the landing? “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” currently has no premiere date, but it is currently scheduled to be released on Disney+ in 2023 and will consist of eight episodes. With “Ahsoka” coming in August, maybe we’ll get the series by the end of the year? Be patient, young Padawan, all will be revealed soon enough.
