Do you love Star Wars? Are you a connoisseur of anything and everything from the 80’s? Are you looking for a swashbuckling action series to binge? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is the perfect show for you!
Skeleton Crew follows four lost kids in a strange and dangerous galaxy. It stars Jude Law as Jod Na Nawood, a space pirate searching for At Attin, which is a mythical lost planet filled with treasure. When four native children accidentally become lost, Jod takes them in, pretending to help them find their way home. When the young heroes discover Jod’s true identity, they must find their own way back home to warn their parents and their planet of the coming danger. Travelling across the stars, Wim, Fern, KB, and Neel see horrors and delights, and experience their first real adventure in this thrilling new Disney Plus series.
Ever since Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker debuted in theaters in 2019, the Star Wars franchise has lived on in the form of Disney Plus television shows like The Mandalorian and Andor. Over the past five years, Lucasfilm has had difficulty maintaining the popularity of these shows, many of which have received mixed or simply bad reviews. Some of these series include Ahsoka, The Book of Boba Fett, and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Despite Lucasfilm’s most recent “failed” experiment, The Acolyte, Skeleton Crew delights audiences with a breath of nostalgic fresh air.
This series was astonishing, offering everything a Star Wars lover could ever want! It has a straightforward and cohesive plot that captivates viewers throughout every episode. Every twist and reveal feels genuine and moves the story forward in an interesting way. The pirate nature of Skeleton Crew also gives the overall show an adventurous feel, generating tons of excitement for the audience to experience. Even though this series takes place during the events of The Mandalorian and other titles parallel with the “Mando-verse Saga,” any references to other shows are minimized. This ensures that hardcore Star Wars fans will see some connectivity to other content, while avoiding confusion for newer viewers who aren’t familiar with the universe.
Skeleton Crew blends a perfect cast with amazing writers, who work wonderfully together, fleshing out characters who are brand new to the Star Wars galaxy. Each actor’s performance is deliberate, and the decision to add phrases such as “too invincible” and “wicked!” in the dialogue works perfectly to enhance the childish innocence these young kids have. It reminds audiences of the same innocence seen in Luke Skywalker during the original films, building up lots of nostalgia. The bond each actor shares is truly special, and it mirrors each character’s relationship in the series. None of the four main stars knew each other until the first day of shooting, similar to their characters in the show. By the end of the series, the characters and the real-life actors had formed an inseparable friendship. This relationship adds so much depth to this show and makes viewers feel the impact of emotional scenes with extreme intensity.
Another wonderful feature of this series was the blend of CGI and practical effects. When Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope first released almost 50 years ago in 1977, modern special effects didn’t exist. Instead, George Lucas relied on a team of stop motion animators, using miniature spaceship models and cars with smoke machines to create an illusion of an explosion. He even had to use mirrors and Vaseline smeared on the bottom half of a camera to give the Tatooine landspeeder its iconic hovering effect!
When the original films were released, these practical effects became a staple of the Star Wars cinematic experience. They continue to be a prominent feature of modern movies and shows, even when digital techniques are used to enhance a motion picture. In Skeleton Crew, stop motion is heavily used and forms many of the coolest moments throughout the series. The most notable use of this animation style occurs in episode 6, titled, “No Friends Again.” Fans who watched the episode will remember the thrilling action sequence where the four heroes must race back to their ship to escape a monstrous crab creature. This space creature, nicknamed “Tet’niss the Mama Crab” by the animators, was a 3-D printed model made by designers from Tippett Studio. This was the same animation studio that helped create iconic effects from the original Star Wars films such as the AT-AT Walkers and Tauntauns from The Empire Strikes Back. The use of this animation style and this particular studio sends even more vintage vibes to viewers.
Star Wars is also known for having some of the most recognizable music in cinema history. From songs like the “Cantina Band” theme to the “Main Title,” anyone will remember the iconic sound of John Williams! His masterful ability to compose and create new scores captivated audiences for over forty years and lives on in new Star Wars composers. These include incredible musicians such as Ludwig Goransson, who composed the score for The Mandalorian, Kevin Kiner, who might be recognized for his work in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Michael Giacchino, a truly iconic composer.
Over the past ten years, Michael Giacchino has become quite familiar with Williams’ work. He has taken over several of Williams’ previous film series’, one of these being the Jurassic World franchise. Giacchino made his Star Wars debut in 2016 with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, stealing the show with his amazing sound and iconic compositions. Hopefully he will return to Star Wars someday, but for now, the franchise is in good hands. His son, Mick Giacchino, is the composer of the incredible score for Skeleton Crew. Mick recently achieved success in the DC franchise with The Penguin. While this series is different from Skeleton Crew, carrying a much darker tone, the contrast shows this young composer’s range of emotion and feeling which he inflects into his scores. Mick Giacchino clearly carries his father’s talent and is more than qualified to carry on the Star Wars scoring legacy. He adds an extra level of whimsy to this already fantastic series.
Skeleton Crew’s success hinges on one important detail in particular – the 80’s easter eggs! Skeleton Crew includes many nods to classic Star Wars movies and other 80’s movies scattered throughout each episode. These include 3D printed R2-D2 pieces on the shell of Mama Crab in episode 6, and visual references to classic 80s movies like Batman and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The directors and writers of the series all grew up watching classic 80’s films such as ET, The Goonies, and Gremlins, drawing major inspiration from each to influence the story for Skeleton Crew. Episode five, titled “You Have a Lot to Learn About Pirates,” reaches the climax of this influence, with a pirate lair obviously inspired by the final moments of The Goonies. It’s filled with eerie skeletons, ancient relics, and tons of treasure! The many references throughout the series make it a sentimental love letter from the creators to this nostalgic time period.
Skeleton Crew is an essential Star Wars series that all fans of the franchise must see! It has plenty of nods to pop culture from the 80’s and exudes pure nostalgic energy for all fans to enjoy. This Disney Plus show has an outstanding score by composer Mick Giacchino and utilizes stunning practical and digital visual effects. Any viewer will instantly fall in love with this breathtaking cast, and every line is crafted perfectly by the writers to prevent any scene from becoming stale. After the controversial disaster of The Acolyte, Lucasfilm has fully restored my confidence in its ability to produce substantial and entertaining shows and movies. Skeleton Crew is superior to almost all Star Wars Disney Plus content within the past six years and is nearly on the same level as The Mandalorian seasons one and two. With Andor season two releasing in April and a Mandalorian film on the horizon, I am truly excited to see where the studio will go next!
